Ellwood City Area School District Directors Recognized

In honor of school board’s commitment to students, schools and communities, January is once again designated School Director Recognition Month.

As part of this recognition, Ellwood City Area School District Directors Renee Pitrelli, Gary Rozanski, Jean Biehls, Leroy Cortez, Jennifer Tomon, Kathleen McCommons, Erica Gray, Barbara Wilson, and Norman Boots were praised during Tuesday night’s school board meeting. Each board member was given a certificate of appreciation by Superintendent Joseph Mancini.

“We appreciate everything you do for this district,” Mancini said.

According to a press release from the Ellwood City Area School District, Pennsylvania public schools educate nearly 2 million students and 1,625 of those students are in the Ellwood City Area School District.

The nine members of each local school board are a key part of the district’s administrative team, making informed decisions that shape public schools and provide a pathway to success for every student. On average, school directors, who are unpaid, devote up to 10 hours per month to the challenging and complex responsibilities of board business, including adopting policy, voting on budgets, evaluating school security issues and reviewing hiring decisions.

The Ellwood City School Board, also has taken the step of adopting the PSBA Principles for Governance and Leadership – a framework of action steps designed to increase boards’ effectiveness. According to research by education research firm CRA, school board actions have a direct effect on student achievement. Therefore, it is crucial that boards engage in actions that increase their effectiveness, for the betterment of the students they serve.

Go to https://www.psba.org/about/governance/principles/ to read the principles and to see a list of Pennsylvania public school boards that have adopted them.

*This article is a combination of a press release from Ellwood City Area School District and Staff Reports.