Randy Asher, BS '95

A different kind of love 

A few years after he graduated from UB, Randy Asher (BS, '95) fell in love . . . with teaching.

The feeling wasn't exactly logical. Asher's degree at UB was in facility management through the School of Architecture and Planning. After graduation, he began freelancing in the architecture field. But a phone call from his high-school drafting teacher changed all that.

The teacher was going on jury duty; would Asher cover his classes for him? Asher agreed, and during his time at the school, the chair of the math department asked if he would cover trigonometry classes for another teacher going on leave. He says the love match was made during that time: "I enjoyed working with the kids; I got involved with coaching, with advisement." Asher decided to get his master's in secondary education in math, then got a supervisory license required of administrators by New York City's Department of Education.

The next step

The next step in 2000 was a call from the past principal at New York City's largest specialized high school, Brooklyn Technical, asking Asher to interview for the position of assistant principal in the math/computer science department. When Asher assumed that position, he became the youngest assistant principal of a math/computer science department in the city. During his tenure there, his peers elected him lead assistant principal of math for the entire New York City school district. He then spent four years as the founding principal of the High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at the City College of New York.

The next call came from the deputy chancellor of the Department of Education, who asked Asher to take over Brooklyn Tech as principal. That happened in February 2006 and he assumed the position in March 2006.

Today, Asher deals daily with 4500 gifted youngsters immersed in programs of "very significant academic rigor." Indeed, Advanced Placement courses are not terminal courses at Brooklyn Tech, and the workload can be much more arduous than what students might experience in college. Students choose a major, each of which requires 10 semesters of concentrated study. The school offers educational opportunities rare for the vast majority of the nation's high schools. Architecture majors build a two-story residential structure. Aerospace majors can conduct experiments using the school's wind tunnels. Biology majors may learn anatomy from a Harvard Medical School graduate.

"It's not a job, it's a lifestyle"

Asher spends about 12 hours at school every day, then he's on line at 4 or 5 a.m. answering questions students email to him. "Being a principal is not a job," he explains. "It's a lifestyle. Every night there's something." Not surprisingly, he says the skill he uses most these days is time management. He also notes that the experience he got at UB in public speaking and presentation has served him well. "Being able to communicate a vision and the mechanics to execute it effectively are important," he says. And overseeing the New York City school system's largest physical plant (594,000 sq. ft.) has also put his facility management major to good use.

Asher's favorite aspect of his job is working with students, "engaging them in intellectual dialog and having them be part of solutions to problems." For instance, because AP classes are not terminal, students have helped determine how courses beyond that level should be weighted for their grade point averages. Perhaps his greatest challenge is "replicating success on this magnitude. To find a good teacher is not too hard, but to find dozens is," he says. "To build out computer rooms is costly; building out 15 is cost prohibitive."

Though the school's students win numerous awards, Asher's goal is "to take something good and make it great, to continue to improve and create opportunities for students to succeed at the highest levels." One example: The school currently is in the design phase of its own DNA lab where students will do advanced, hands-on lab activities under the supervision of PhDs. Asher envisions Brooklyn Tech in five years as a central resource for other schools as a model for best instructional practices and original ways of delivering high-level content. Asher's confident, though, of the possibilities for his school: "We know what we need to do to take it to the next level."

Written by Grace Lazzara
February 2008

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