Seven years ago Bruce Stahly came to Goshen with a reputation in education circles of excellence.
As superintendent of the Goshen Community Schools, he has lived up to that reputation.
Stahly was recently named 2010 District II Superintendent of the Year by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. It is the second time since 2006 the honor has been bestowed on Stahly.
The award is given annually to one superintendent in each of nine state districts. There are 36 superintendents that work in District II.
“There are a terrific number of great superintendents in District II,” Stahly said. “So, to be honored in this way is humbling to say the least.”
Looking back over his seven years as superintendent in Goshen, Stahly said he has faced a number of significant challenges, the most prominent of which include issues of financial stability and the need to upgraded facilities.
“I think over the years, the first big challenge was financial stability, and the second would be our facilities, which have since been updated,” Stahly said. “I think the school board in particular has done an excellent job of getting all our schools in good condition.”
Stahly also noted the need to improve student achievement is an ongoing challenge for the corporation.
“The biggest initiative we’re working on now is student level of achievement, and that has been a continual challenge,” Stahly said. “But with some of the initiatives we have in place now, such as the Marzano program and building vocabulary, I think those are going to do a lot to help increase student achievement levels significantly.”
Team mentality
When asked to describe any prominent success stories that come to mind, Stahly said he tends to look at the corporation’s achievements as a whole, rather than breaking them down into their individual parts.
“I can’t say that there are any individual achievements, but I am proud of being associated with all the changes in terms of just looking out my window, looking at the high school and seeing the changes to the grounds, the additional athletic field, the facilities that each of our elementary schools now have,” Stahly said. “There’s also the pride of working with our teachers. I think we’ve had a good relationship with our teachers over the years, and we’ll continue to work at that.
“It has not been an adversarial relationship, and I think that has been a benefit to our school corporation,” he said.
Stahly also made note of what he sees as a strong collaborative effort between GCS and organizations such as the Goshen Chamber of Commerce, area businesses, civic groups and the like.
“We’ve worked together exceedingly well over the past few years,” Stahly said. “We know that each one has an integral part to play in terms of building up this community, and we’ve worked together to that end.”
Looking ahead
As for what future issues or plans will be on the forefront for the corporation in the coming months, Stahly broke down his top priorities into three main areas.
The first is the Chandler Elementary School restructuring mandated through Title I and the No Child Left Behind Act.
“We’ve just started the committee’s work on that and that will continue until at least the end of the year before any recommendations are made,” Stahly said. “What’s more, the issue isn’t only about Chandler, it’s about how we’re going to approach the issue of restructuring if it happens to any other Goshen schools as well.”
Chandler is currently facing restructuring based on its ISTEP-plus passing percentages and its lack of “Adequate Yearly Progress,” as deemed by No Child Left Behind.
Also on the horizon for Stahly is the possibility of switching the corporation to a balanced, year-round calender.
“We’re very concerned about the knowledge loss that occurs over the summer, particularly for some of our economically challenged students,” Stahly said. “That’s why we’re looking at a balanced calender.”
According to Stahly a balanced calendar would change the length of school sessions significantly, breaking them up into 60- or 45-day chunks with vacations between sessions instead of what has typically been the traditional September-June schooling block broken by a long summer break.
“But before we decide anything,” Stahly said, “I think we owe it to the community to do a very thorough study on this.”
Closing out Stahly’s list of top priorities for the corporation is his desire to revisit some previously stalled renovation plans, most notably expansion of the music facilities at Goshen High School and the cafeteria at Goshen Middle School.
“The need at the high school and middle school has not gone away,” Stahly said. “With enrollment down, it does not justify a new 5-6 building at this time, but it wasn’t just an enrollment thing when talking about expansion at the high school. We need the additional music facilities, and we need the cafeteria facilities at the middle school.”
Those aspects were all included in a previous construction project proposal that was pulled off the table last year because of the souring economy.
Stahly said he will wait and see how the economy is in February or March of next year before deciding whether or not to try another facility proposal.
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