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BWH President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA rang in Tuesday morning with a school bell, as he took time out of his busy schedule to serve as Principal For A Day (PFAD) at the Maurice J. Tobin School in Mission Hill. Gottlieb joined corporate and civic leaders throughout Boston, who were invited to spend one day in a specially selected school during the city’s first-ever PFAD event.“Principal For A Day provides an opportunity for local leaders like Dr. Gottlieb to obtain a true picture of public education in Boston, offering a first-hand look at both the strengths of the public schools and the challenges they face,” said Mary Anne Cohen of the Boston Plan for Excellence, which sponsors the event.Gottlieb specifically requested that he visit the Tobin School, as BWH has been working in close partnership with the school for more than a decade. “We have forged a unique relationship with the Tobin School that has positively impacted both of our institutions,” said Gottlieb. “This event provided another great opportunity to further cultivate this relationship and to learn how BWH can continue to work on increasing overall parent, family, community and hospital involvement in the students’ learning.” Escorted by Tobin School Principal Cheryl Watson-Harris, Gottlieb greeted students as they stepped off their buses in the morning, meeting several parents and making announcements. He then made classroom visits, observing and interacting with teachers and students to see how the school is working to improve instruction in literacy and math. “The extraordinary commitment, creativity and spectacular work of Ms. Watson-Harris and the terrific teaching staff is truly inspiring,” said Gottlieb.“It was great to have Dr. Gottlieb as the Principal For A Day at the Tobin School,” said Watson-Harris. “It was interesting and exciting to see that there are so many similarities between the work here at the school, and the leadership of the hospital. We are all trying to make sure that the people in our community are receiving the things necessary to be healthy and safe and looking forward to a bright future.”Following his visit to the Tobin School, Gottlieb headed downtown, were he joined other event participants for a roundtable discussion with Mayor Thomas Menino, Superintendent Thomas Payzant and Boston Plan for Excellence Chair Chad Gifford. The group shared thoughts on their experiences of the day and also brainstormed ideas on how to help the Boston public schools moving forward.