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New Superintendent Pflueger outlines vision,
goals in
speech to district employees |
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September 1, 2015 |
 Gary Pflueger, the new Superintendent for
Boundary County School District 101, met with
all staff of the District yesterday, and there
presented an address outlining his vision and
goals for the school year, along with some of
his philosophy as Superintendent.
He began by reviewing his educational and
professional career, beginning with his first
teaching position in the 1970s, and extending
through his most recent tenure as principal at
Valley View Elementary School here in Boundary
County.
"If you add up my teaching and administrative
time," said Mr. Pflueger, "you will see I spent
38 years trying to stay away from
superintendents and school board members. I have
jumped from the frying pan and into the fire."
Kids First.
Those words are often heard in educational
circles. "It's an easy slogan," said Mr.
Pflueger. "People that know me, know I think
this way."
Mr. Pflueger covered the importance of
communication within the district, in particular
as an important way to deal with difficult
issues that may arise. "When anyone perceives a
problem or conflict in one area of a child’s
educational program, communication needs to
happen. This is always best done in a
non-emotional conversation one-to-one, with the
best interest of the child in mind."
He stressed the importance of working with
issues that arise by following the chain of
command--not every problem needs to go directly
to the school board, he said.
Back when he was interviewing for the
Superintendent position, Mr. Pflueger outlined
how his philosophy led to focusing on two key
areas of a student's educational career. He
continued with that same theme in his speech to
district personnel.
"My focus will remain in two areas: the primary
grades, and fine tuning the high school
product."
"The first three to four years in school set the
tone for academic and social success. The last
three to four years in school prepares a human
for the world. The students need to find their
nitch. The high school program currently offers
great options: an academic fast track with dual
credits, vocational experiences for welding,
auto and wood shop and FFA. We have excellent
music and drama opportunities, sports, clubs and
another shining star—robotics. These exceptional
high school programs can be fine-tuned and
extended," he continued.
He also mentioned another philosophy he had
previously expressed when interviewed for his
current position: "Not every child is cut out
for public education. After we have exhausted
all our resources, sometimes we need to remove a
child who is disrupting the educational progress
of others. I will help this process after I know
we have tried everything we could think of to
meet this child’s needs."
"We must work closely together, we must learn
from each other, we should also learn from the
students daily. This job should be fun."
He went on to review recent seminars that have
helped contribute ideas and thinking toward
effective strategies for working with students,
then set some expectations for the coming school
year:
"Our performance will be better than last year;
our expectations will be higher. Your job is
hard--my job is to support and assist you; with
everything you do, remember—it is all about the
kids!"
He concluded by asking the employees of the
district to follow some of the same counsel
often asked of the students: "Be on Time, Be
Prepared, Be Respectful, and Act When Asked!"
And, ending his speech: "Go Badgers!" |
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