Modeling Civil Discourse May Be the Best We Can Deliver

My VieW

I recently transitioned from a superintendency in Indiana, Pa., to return to my home roots as the superintendent of the Windber Area School District, also in central Pennsylvania. It’s where my family has lived for 20 years and where my children have attended school.

Between my hiring and my start date three months later, I received a great deal of feedback from various stakeholders on what they wanted to see changed in the district.

Prior to my hiring, the district conducted focus groups with parents, students, staff, administrators and school board members. Through these forums, I readily discovered a great deal of healing and communication needed to occur for all of us to move forward.

To target opportunities for doing so, I created a Parent Advisory Council, which established a channel for ongoing feedback from parents directly to me. The meetings enabled us to work together on improvements.