Superintendent of Schools Dr. Donna C. Hanlin, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Frederick Briggs, and the Board of Education are pleased to announce a number of key leadership changes for Wicomico County Public Schools, effective July 1:
District-Level Leadership Positions:
- Appointment of Mr. Micah Stauffer as Chief Finance and Operations Officer for Wicomico Schools.
- Appointment of Mr. Don R. Brady as the new Director of Secondary Education.
- Appointment of Ms. Melissa Eiler, Principal of Pemberton Elementary, to Supervisor of Early Childhood.
- Promotion of Mr. Aaron Deal, Central Office Technology Trainer, to Supervisor of Technology & New Teacher Induction.
- Retirement of longtime Comptroller and Chief Finance and Operations Officer E. Bruce Ford after 32 years with the school system.
School Leadership Positions:
- Promotion of Ms. Erin Nathan, currently Acting Principal at James M. Bennett High, to Principal of Bennett Middle.
- Transfer of Ms. Christel Savage, currently Principal of Bennett Middle, to Principal of James M. Bennett High.
- Promotion of Dr. Ryan Kessler, currently an Assistant Principal at Delmar Elementary, to Principal of Pemberton Elementary.
- Promotion of Mr. Kevin Smith from Acting Principal of Pinehurst Elementary to Principal of Pinehurst.
- Transfer of Ms. Kris Gosnell, currently Principal of Salisbury Middle, to Principal at Pittsville Elementary and Middle. Current Pittsville Principal Michael Cody is retiring.
- Promotion of Mr. Terance Dunn, currently an Assistant Principal at Salisbury Middle, to Principal of Salisbury Middle.
- Promotion of Mr. Ron Greene, currently an Assistant Principal of Wicomico High, to Principal of Wicomico High.
In addition to the school leadership promotions and transfers above, the following individuals have been named as assistant principal or dean of students, with their school placements to be announced at a later date:
Assistant Principal: Parris Abt, Jason Capobianco, Undrea Blake, Jamie Bouchelle, Ken Popp, Georgine Fronczak, Latonya Wilson
Dean of Students: Brent Lewis, Cameron Ball, Genise Fleming, Tessa Gentzel, Tamyra Foreman
Background for District-Level Leadership Appointees
Chief Finance and Operations Officer: Mr. Micah Stauffer was hired in September 1998 to teach science at Parkside High School. In 2003 he was promoted to assistant principal, serving at Wicomico Middle and then Mardela Middle and High. He was appointed Principal in 2007, serving at Mardela Middle and High and Parkside High. He became the Director of Secondary Education in August 2014, and will now serve as Chief Finance and Operations Officer. Mr. Stauffer is a 1991 graduate of Wicomico High. He received his bachelor’s degree from University of Maryland Baltimore County in 1996, and his master’s degree from Salisbury State University in 1998.
Director of Secondary Education: Mr. Don Brady joined Wicomico Schools in August 2010 as principal of Wicomico High School. As Principal, Mr. Brady has sought to develop collaborative teams clearly focused on student learning. The teams at Wi-Hi work interdependently to achieve common goals linked to one purpose learning for all. Mr. Brady believes in the value of shared leadership. He served as Principal of the SEED School of Maryland and Assistant Principal of Frederick High School and Monocacy Middle School before joining Wicomico's school leadership team. He is clearly focused on cultivating effective teacher leaders and supporting professional growth, resulting in stronger student achievement. Mr. Brady earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Salisbury University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Hood College.
Supervisor of Early Childhood: Ms. Melissa Eiler joined Wicomico Schools in 1998 as Grade 2 teacher at Prince Street Elementary. In 2003 she was promoted to Assistant Principal at Willards Elementary. She was Coordinator and then Principal of the Wicomico Early Learning Center from May 2007 to 2011, when she was named Principal of Beaver Run Elementary. Mrs. Eiler has served as Pemberton Elementary’s Principal since 2016. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s degree from Salisbury University.
Supervisor of Technology & New Teacher Induction: Mr. Aaron Deal, a 1986 graduate of Parkside High, earned his bachelor’s degree (1994) and master’s degree (2005) from Salisbury University. After first working as a guidance assistant, he began serving as a Grade 4 teacher at East Salisbury Elementary in 1995. From 2001 to 2011 he taught Computer at Salisbury Middle, demonstrating teaching excellence and being named the 2003-2004 Wicomico Teacher of the Year and 2004 Maryland Teacher of the Year. Mr. Deal continued to work on behalf of students and families as a Pupil Personnel Worker (2011-2017). He was named Central Office Technology Trainer in 2017.
Outgoing Chief Finance and Operations Officer: Mr. Ford has served as Chief Finance and Operations Officer since July 1, 2017. He was the Comptroller from 1987 through 2017. Under his leadership, the school system has earned numerous national organization awards for the clarity and expertise with which its budget and financial reports are handled. He oversaw the launching of the school system’s Transparency Portal, and was a key inspiration in the Superintendent’s creation of the Imagine 2022 strategic plan. Collectively, these awards and achievements demonstrate the commitment of Mr. Ford, the school system and the Board to ensuring that education resources are used wisely.
5 comments:
Heard from some Bennett HS staff, they don't think that Ms. Christel Savage will bring any real change. That she will likely continue the same policy that have been hurting our children by leaving thugs in the school.
Hope its different. Doubt it though.
Dear Readers,
Before the rampant criticism begins, know that walking in an administrator's shoes is no easy task. Some falter, some fail (and yes, some are corrupt), but the vast majority do their best to support students despite various mandates put upon them.
Frankly, I am quite surprised to not see a number of posts by this point in the day. Typically, each spring when announcements are made, a literal plethora of negative commentary usually follows for various 'ills' suffered for many reasons.
Prior to one making commentary, I would counsel those who wish to do so by asking one simple question: Would you do what they do? If your answer is yes, then by all means take the necessary steps to address the stringent requirements and correct the issues you feel are paramount to address. If no, please do us all a favor and keep your private commentary to yourself.
Kind regards,
Paladin
Bennett Middle needs a strong male principal Mrs. Savage let the kids run the school and the new principal will not be any better! They do not have the strong hand needed to bring it under control. They need to be in the halls when classes change and make sure kids are not walking all over the school after classes start! If the new lady doesn’t take control, you will lose a lot of good teachers!
hey paladin, it's not a question of would I do what they do. the question should be are they doing what they are being paid to do?
and considering the number of times I have had to make trips to upper management I would say most do but those who don't have the ability to impact a young person for a far longer time then they realize.
After going over the union contract I can see why things are the way they are. No accountability anywhere in the system! which is what happens when you have a school board filled with political appointments. yeah even with the new "so called voting" where candidates have to be approved by the union?
Teachers hands are tied by fairly inflexible documenting requirements, and then administrators may do little of substance to correct the student behavior. Students know this, and poor grades or not, are smart enough to play the system like a virtuoso violinist.
Administrators are obviously directed to overlook and minimize any actual correction to behaviors whether attire, tardiness, wandering, etc, etc.
Some years back the Board knuckled under to a directive from Washington regarding student discipline. Most kids are good kids, but coddling the miscreants undercuts the good kids, and they eventually slide toward the easy path of doing what you wish, as exemplified by the miscreants. As a consequence the standards of actual behavior become what the bad actors want to get away with.
The late senator and social scientist Daniel Patrick Moynihan coined the phrase 'defining deviancy down' to describe this slippery slope toward an ever lower lowest common denominator. That was nearly 30 years ago.
Successful societies do set actual standards and expectations, and help the young to understand and meet those goals on the way to adulthood. We're failing kids when we consciously abandon this role.
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