The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
District leader reflects on education
Superintendent Angela Smith strives to have meaningful and regular interaction with the district’s students
When Angela Smith became Madison Schools’ superintendent in 2015, she had at least one goal that she couldn’t accomplish very easily inside the Board of Education building.
That is her desire to have meaningful and regular interaction with the district’s students.
Nearly six years later, Smith has been keeping that commitment.
“I make sure I have connections to kids,” she said. “I go out to the schools all the time. I’m in one first grade class at least once a month reading to them and chatting with them. I go to the things at the high school. The kids know me, and we interact.”
A native of Aurora, Smith recalls that she was 5 years old when she set her sights on becoming a teacher.
“I just loved the idea of school,” she said. “My dad worked for the Cleveland Public Schools for over 40 years. He taught summer school and night school and was a truant officer by day. And I just looked up to him and what he did.”
As Smith got into high school and began researching colleges, her father tried to steer her away from majoring in education.
“But my heart always came back to wanting to be a teacher,” she said.
Smith went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Akron; a master’s degree of education in curriculum and instruction from Ashland University; and a high school principal certificate and superintendent’s license from the University of Akron.
Her first teaching job was at Akron Central Hower High School. She instructed the same students three to four periods a day as a communication arts teacher.
“I learned a lot about teaching and learning,” Smith said. “When you have the same group of kids three to four periods a day, you can’t just give them worksheets and books and questions to answer, you have to do really that whole projectbased learning thing that we’re talking about now.”
From Akron Central Hower, Smith’s next career move brought her to Mentor Schools, where she taught reading and English for nine years.
“And then I decided I was at a point where my kids were old enough that I wanted to become an administrator, and I went back and got my administrative coursework,” she
said.
Her entry into the Madison School District occurred when she accepted the position of assistant principal at Madison High School.
After serving as assistant principal for four years, Smith continued to climb the administrative ladder in Madison Schools, first as the district’s director of curriculum and then as assistant superintendent.
In 2015, she was one of two finalists who interviewed to succeed Madison Schools Superintendent Roger Goudy after he announced his plans to retire. She told the News-herald at that time that she wanted to become superintendent because she is dedicated to the Madison community and believes it is a special place. Smith also said that the district has “an amazing staff who go above and beyond for the students in our schools,” and she wants to see the best for the community and its students.
As Smith reflects on what she’s achieved so far as superintendent, she said her proudest accomplishment has been working to help pass a levy in 2017, which represented the first new money for the district in 28 years.
However, even two years after approval of the levy, Smith admits that money doesn’t go as far as the district would like it to.
“We’re constantly looking for ways to improve our efficiency and still be effective,” she said.
Faced with declining district enrollment, the Madison School Board recently approved reductions in personnel, which take effect at the start of the 2020-21
A native of Aurora, Smith recalls that she was 5 years old when she set her sights on becoming a teacher.
school year.
The board voted for reductions of four teaching positions at the high school, one at the middle school and two at the elementary school.
“Nobody likes to do it, but when you look at your numbers and look at your budgets, you have to say, ‘What’s going to have the least impact on the students based on the enrollment we have?” Smith said. “It’s a challenge, but the state requires us to balance the budget, and for fiscal year ‘21, we were showing a deficit in our forecast.”
Looking ahead, Smith said she and the School Board stay committed to being fiscally responsible while still carrying out the district’s mission of “Expect, Believe and Achieve” for all students.
“And it’s a good mission,” she said. “Because you expect from your students, you believe in them, they will achieve.”
The challenging part, she said is how “achieve” represents many different outcomes for students.
“But they all can achieve something,” she said.
For the future, Smith is hoping to play a role in improving the district’s economic condition.
“My goal before I fully retire from Madison Schools is to leave this district in a financial position that my successor doesn’t have to worry about,” she said.