New Valparaiso Community Schools Superintendent Brian Smith has been going out into the community to become more familiar with it. On Tuesday, the School Board brought community leaders to him.
At a School Board reception for Smith at Valparaiso High School, Smith said his focus will be on strong communication, transparency and creating as many opportunities as possible for students.
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“Our children are our greatest investment, and when schools and communities work together, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish,” he said.
“I’m truly humbled to be a part of this remarkable school district and this incredible community,” Smith said.
Smith has been a superintendent for 18 years, he said. “I felt that I had one more big challenge in me,” he said, and wanted to be a part of “such a strong academic tradition.”
Among the mentors Smith cited was Ric Frataccia, whose widow Kaye Frataccia-Seibert is a member of the Valparaiso School Board.
Hiring a superintendent “is the most important job we have to do,” she said.
The board had 20 applicants to replace Jim McCall, who announced his resignation in the spring to accept a job in the private sector. “Brian, he just really stood out from the beginning,” Frataccia-Seibert said.
Already, Smith has posted a job opening for a communications director, something he said he would do as a way of fulfilling his promise for strong communication with the community, she said.
“We need to be talking about all the great things we’re doing” so parents can know the public schools compete well against charter schools and other alternatives to traditional public schools, Frataccia-Seibert said.
“I think we’re on the right track here in Valpo,” she said.
Board member John Peluso checked Smith’s references, learning everyone “had nothing but wonderful things to say.”
“We are very excited to have him here. He has all the things we’re looking for in a superintendent,” Peluso said.
Smith has “experience, communication skills and a passion to get things done right without deviating from Valparaiso Community Schools values,” Peluso said.
“We pride ourselves here in Valparaiso” for excellence in schools, longtime board member Karl Cender said. “We want to continue that tradition.”
“We’ve turned the page. We’re on a new chapter,” board President Erika Watkins said.
Natalie Krivas, president of the Valparaiso Schools Foundation board, called Smith “such a good fit for the schools” and “just exactly what our school district needs.”
Past foundation board president Molly Phelps agreed. “We’re really excited. He had an instrumental role in developing the Highland Education Foundation,” she said.
“As the community continues to grow, both in size and diversity, he brings a fresh new perspective,” Krivas said. “That is important to our board. We desire to serve all students.”
Smith’s experience as a direct partner with Highland’s foundation is instrumental to its Valpo counterpart, Krivas said.
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“We’re always looking for new things to do,” Phelps added.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.