Personalized Solutions for Ohio Educators, Students, and Families

Fall 2022 Newsletter

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Advancing Women to Make Their Mark
Welcome Brooke Pillets, Director of Early Learning
Making an Impact Together
Norton’s New Superintendent
Leadership Symposium Highlights

Six years ago, Dr. Christina Dinklocker, Summit ESC Leadership Consultant, created Summit ESC’s leadership training program “Lifting Leaders” and has since branched out into a wide array of topics to further our educators’ professional development. It’s an initiative that has helped many districts around Ohio, like yours, find and empower women for various positions!

Among the many programs offered to encourage educators to become principals, superintendents, and treasurers, an incredibly impactful network was developed called the Women’s Leadership Network.

Founded in 2017, the Women’s Leadership Network has been recognized by the Buckeye Association of School Administrators in Columbus as women’s leadership as a focus is gaining momentum throughout Ohio. Some 450 women participated in the 2022 BASA women’s conference — which is double the participation from the previous year!

Each year a local leader is selected as a facilitator for the Women’s Leadership Network. This year’s chairperson and facilitator is Sandra Isabella, principal with Mogadore Local Schools.

The local network features regular sessions for women who want to further their careers in leadership, connect with others who share similar goals, and build their skill set. Topics have included updating resumes, interview strategies, and effective public speaking. Network sessions often feature a guest speaker invited to present to the group their topic of expertise or on their experiences in their role.

Districts across Ohio have experienced an increase in women taking on leadership roles in the Portage and Summit County areas. Those recently appointed, with the help of the Summit ESC team, are:

Superintendent Angela Terrella in Waterloo
Treasurer Julia Rozsnyai in Twinsburg
Superintendent Andrea Celico in Cuyahoga Falls
Superintendent Shelly Monachino in Springfield
Interim Treasurer Sherry Tyson in Waterloo

Not long after these women are appointed to their new position, they are invited to share their experiences with the Women’s Leadership Network on what it is like to transition into their role — oftentimes in a new district where they have to win the trust and loyalty of the community.

Meeting attendees are left with a story of inspiration and advice on how to develop themselves further as effective leaders in their roles.

To learn more about Lifting Leaders and the Woman Leadership Network, or to find out how Summit ESC can help with your leadership searches, contact Tina Dinklocker at [email protected].

Summit ESC started the school year off with lots of new faces around the building, including our new Director of Early Learning, Brooke Pillets.

Our Student Services and Wellness department has constantly been growing over the past couple of months with the addition of new programs and staff thanks to Student Services Director, Kristin Fazio. Student Services and Wellness will now be broken into two departments: Student Services directed by Kristin and Early Learning directed by Brooke.

Kristin leaves Early Learning in very capable hands as Brooke has over 20 years of experience as a school administrator. Brooke has done it all: special education coordinator, assistant principal, and Director of Student Services, and over 12 years as a teacher — giving her a well-rounded background in the various school districts in which she has served.

She is most excited about continuing to ensure a “5-star rated quality preschool program, continuing to provide fiscally responsible services to districts, and building a community around preschool coordinators, teachers, and educational assistants.”

“Every student learns differently, and it has been my job to make sure students are reaching their full potential in school,” Brooke states as she looks back on her career. She recognizes that children need an advocate to receive educational equity — she wants to be that voice for them, no matter their circumstances, because they deserve to be successful too.

Brooke’s passion for children really shines through when she talks about how proud she is of her two sons and how she’s loved being a mother. Brooke is a big supporter of self-care and a healthy lifestyle and loves to travel, noting that Key West is the best place to go.

We are so happy to welcome you to Summit ESC, Brooke!

Summit ESC has been serving school districts like yours all across Ohio since 2014!

431 different public school districts and other schools or agencies.
Reached or served in some capacity about 42% of the 610 school districts in Ohio.

We are happy to say that while we were experiencing a peak in the 2017-18 school year, we were able to bounce back after the pandemic in 2021-22. Our search services have brought 13 qualified candidates into leadership roles across Ohio.

Together, we’re making an impact statewide for the sake of educators, school staff, students, and families. And we’re so grateful you’re part of that!

Finding the right people for the right jobs in school districts across the state is a crucial key to success for educators, administrators, and students like yours.

At the end of the last academic year, Norton City Schools announced its new superintendent, Bryan Farson, who began his term this past August for the 2022-23 school year.

Summit ESC was grateful for the opportunity to assist Norton’s school board in finding the right candidate for the position. Our School Leadership Selection Service designs a custom search to find the right leader(s) for any district looking to fill vacancies in leadership role … a collaborative process that involves several steps but ensures a highly successful outcome for all involved.

The Norton board unanimously selected Farson, a Principal at AI Root Middle School in Medina, among three candidates.

When Summit ESC takes on the task of selecting candidates, the individuals are put through a series of interviews that usually involves others in the decision — people from the community and families they will be serving.

The three finalists were interviewed by administrators, teachers, classified staff, and community members from Norton that same night, and the finalists were interviewed individually by board members.

“I am extremely excited to begin my work with Norton City Schools,” says Farson. “Throughout the entire hiring process, the passion that everyone involved has for this school district was evident.”

We’re grateful to serve in capacities like these — helping districts solidify the right people for the right jobs. We have had the opportunity to fill 12 leadership positions for school districts across Ohio within the last two years.

To learn more about Summit ESC’s School Leadership Connection, or how we can help your district, visit us here.

We are thrilled and thankful to all those who attended The Leadership Symposium in August!

Our keynote speaker, Brian Kight, kept participants engaged with his storytelling. As one participant remarked: “[I] loved Brian Kight’s message. He addressed some hot topics while keeping the mood light which was appreciated.”

Attendees were able to enjoy much-needed collaborative time with their teams before the school year began both during their own scheduled team sessions and after the symposium, at our After-Hour Events — Topgolf, The Lantern Festival at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and a Guardians game at Progressive Field!

To our Summit ESC staff who made the event the great success it was, THANK YOU for your dedication to excellence. Our participants agreed:

“I appreciate the support from ESC staff in every session.”
“This was a great two days of PD and team-building for our A-Team.”
“Thanks for your hard work. You did a great job. From the speakers to the snacks to the meals, great work!”

We were able to capture some great moments at the Leadership Symposium … Check them out below!