Change in leadership doesn’t mean change in focus

On Jan 2, 2023

Over the past 10 years, I have been honored to serve the students, staff and families of the Upper Arlington Schools and to work alongside Dr. Paul Imhoff, most recently as the associate superintendent for human resources and operations.

As Dr. Imhoff retires as the superintendent of Upper Arlington Schools and moves on to his next chapter, I want to share my deepest gratitude for his service over the past decade. Thanks to his leadership, Upper Arlington continues to be a lighthouse school district in Ohio and across the nation — setting the standard in academic achievement and success for our students.

It is truly my honor to step into the role as interim superintendent for the next several months and to be the first woman to serve as the leader of the Upper Arlington Schools. I’m grateful for this opportunity and the support of the board of education. I’m prepared to serve in this capacity to ensure a seamless transition to our next superintendent, and I then plan to retire at the end of July 2023 after more than three decades in public education.

As you may know, the board of education is continuing to work with Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA) in the search for our next leader. Board President Lori Trent shared in December that the search is going very well, and she expects to have more updates to share with the community this month. You can find updates at uaschools.org/2022SuperintendentSearch.aspx.

As we move forward over the next several months, our district will remain focused on our mission — to challenge and support every student, every step of the way. An important part of that will be our continued implementation of our multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework. MTSS, put simply, is how we meet students where they are so they can achieve at the highest possible academic levels. We started this work at the elementary level during the 2021-2022 school year, and we’re strengthening the processes at the secondary level this year so that we offer a strong continuum of support for all students.

We also will be continuing our work stemming from the Listen Learn Lead community engagement process, launched by the board in the spring of 2022. Based on the community feedback from this process, we’ve identified several recommendations in the areas of student engagement, financial accountability and communication. Last month, we shared an implementation plan with the board, outlining work that already has been completed, is underway or will soon be getting underway in these areas. That report is available at uaschools.org/ListenLearnLead.aspx.