Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Supt. Lawrence Mussoline retires after eight years
DOWNINGTOWN » Lawrence Mussoline often shared a phrase with his students that his parents taught him, saying to “make a difference.”
8 years at Downingtown Area School District
Mussoline decided to retire when his contract expired on June 30 and announced prior to the 2016-17 school year that it would be his last of eight years as the Downingtown Area School District superintendent.
“It’s been the thrill of my life to be here. It was the greatest thing that happened to me because of the things that we were able to do,” Mussoline said. “The school district needed things done and we accomplished them with a great team.”
Appointed by the school board members in 2009, Mussoline oversaw the opening of two Downingtown schools - the Downingtown STEM Academy for the 2011-12 school year and the Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center for the 201415 school year. He noted that by opening a sixth grade center to help with overcrowding instead of building a third middle school, and also renovating a building for $13 million instead of building a third high school at $80 million, it saved taxpayers millions of dollars.
He also oversaw the implementation of several programs including the one-to-one technology device program and the Blended Learning Option that offers a combination of self-paced and classroom learning. When he first arrived, the 14 schools didn’t have Wi-Fi and some had computers, but now all 16 schools have Wi-Fi and most students in sixth through 12th grade have a device to use in and out of school as a part of the oneto-one learning program. Mussoline considers the progress with technology one of the district’s greatest accomplishments to keep up with the 21st-century learning experiences and to prepare students to use devices in college and beyond.
“You don’t get all this done without a great team,” Mussoline said. “I’m one person.”
Mussoline felt lucky and grateful to oversee 1,500 employees, work with a total of 21 school board members over the years, an administrative team that created budgets without a tax increase for five consecutive years, and a teaching team that is “second to none.” In his first week at Downingtown, parents told him they wanted more rigorous classes and the district delivered. The STEM Academy quickly became the number-one high school in Pennsylvania for two consecutive years with all three Downingtown high schools being named to the Washington Post’s list of most challenging high schools in America.
38 years in education
After he graduated from Bloomsburg University in 1979, Mussoline taught social studies from 1979 to 1986 while he earned his M.Ed. from Shippensburg University in 1983. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Penn State University in 1998.
During his career, he took an administrative job that was actually a pay cut, but he said it turned out to be the best move because it was there that he was encouraged to continue as an administrator and pursue becoming a superintendent of schools. Prior to Downingtown, Mussoline served as superintendent for the Wilson School District from 2005-09 and for the Pine Grove Area School District from 1998 – 2005. He served as an administrator for the Central Dauphin School District from 1986 – 1998.
‘Gift of failure’
Jessica Lahey, author of “Gift of Failure,” visited Downingtown to discuss her novel about parents learning to allow their children to experience the disappointments and frustrations from life problems so that they can grow up to be successful, resilient, and self-reliant adults. The book was read by 250 district employees and shared with district families.
“You don’t give up hope. You still learn from the failures and you become better because of those failures,” Mussoline said, “and in life, that’s certainly the case.”
Mussoline said they look at failure as a learning experience and learn new strategies to put forth the effort to do better, a concept that the STEM Academy is based on.
Greatest training
“The greatest training I received to be a superintendent was being a baseball umpire for 25 years,” Mussoline said. “People look at me and they laugh.”
Both teams want to win, Mussoline explained, and there’s pressure on both sides to win and the umpire is the objective person in the middle. “It’s a great proving ground to know that you are not going to please everybody in the decisions that you make. So you have to make the decisions that you see in front of you as it’s unfolding and as your eyes see them, that’s how you call them,” Mussoline explained. “Some people will see those decisions differently than you do, and that’s what makes America great. At some point, somebody has to make the decision and in baseball, that happens to be the umpire.”
Retirement plans
Mussoline plans to travel with his wife, who is also retired. He also has plans to go see baseball games, play a few games and maybe even become an umpire again.