A Superintendent Who Shares the Credit
This one is longer than our usual closer. My mom was a teacher, and this story is worth the extra space.
Dr. Elizabeth Robison, superintendent of the Pocono Mountain School District, has been named Pennsylvania’s 2027 Superintendent of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators. She has spent 38 years with the district.
Why she won. PASA’s Elections Committee and Board of Governors cited her leadership in improving student outcomes, expanding opportunities, building community partnerships and advancing public education. She led a redesign of secondary education aimed at closing achievement gaps and improving outcomes for students with disabilities, and guided the move to a renewed daily schedule. She also rebuilt the district’s cyber program as PMSD Cyber, a K-12 program with individualized learning paths, live and recorded instruction, small-group teaching, counseling and credit recovery.
Beyond the classroom. Under her watch, students have earned regional, state, national and international recognition in STEAM, chess, problem-solving, and speech and debate (as the captain of my high school’s debate team, let me give a particular applause to that). The district opened a new Wellness Facility and has been recognized as a Great Pennsylvania School, a Best Community for Music Education and an Outstanding Visual Arts Community. She has also built partnerships with St. Luke’s University Health Network, Communities in Schools and the Pocono Mountains United Way, where she has volunteered for more than 30 years and won its Spirit of Caring and Outstanding Campaign Manager awards.
What’s next. She beat finalists Lynn Fuini-Hetten of Salisbury Township and Dr. Erin Keating of Scranton, and now represents Pennsylvania in the national program. National finalists are named late this year, and the national winner will be recognized in Atlanta in February. Her reaction: “No superintendent leads alone.”
Have a great weekend, Monroe County, and a spooky one.
