Superintendent

Robert M. Jokela took over the permanent role of Superintendent on July 1, 2019. Being the child of immigrants and a Fitchburg High School alum, he wants every child attending Fitchburg Public Schools to have the opportunity to be college or career ready after they complete their learning in the Fitchburg Public Schools. Mr. Jokela brings his knowledge of the school district, local connections, and leadership experience to improve the learning outcomes of all our students.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Jokela served as the Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations, where he oversaw over $10M of facilities upgrades and the installation of two rooftop solar displays at our schools. Mr. Jokela was also involved with the upgrade of the IT infrastructure to a state-of-the-art wireless network across all of our schools to increase digital content delivery for teaching and learning. Mr. Jokela led efforts to secure funding for the Fitchburg Flourishes Early Childhood Literacy initiative. Fitchburg Flourishes is the district’s early childhood literacy initiative being rolled out at childcare centers across the city and the school department as a learning supplement.

Mr. Jokela previously held leadership roles in Fitchburg-based companies and a social service agency. He is a graduate of Mt. Wachusett Community College and UMass Amherst, and later earned a Master’s in Business Administration from Bentley University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Clark University. He also completed the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) program in 2012, and holds active professional licenses as Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent and School Business Administrator in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.