After One Month, New Super on 'Target'

Dr. Sandra Brower has officially been working as Superintendent of the Lacey Township School District for one month and although it has been a whirlwind, she says she has been on “target.”

“I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to get a sense of what people have been telling me,” Brower said.

Brower has been told that Lacey is community-driven. “I’m seeing it,” she said.

Monday, Dec. 12 was Brower’s first meeting with her transition team. The team includes high school Athletic Director Karen Hughes, Principal Eric Fiedler, teacher Darlene Price, parent Cathy Rapsas and Assistant Superintendent Vanessa Clark.

“I’m going to be very transparent,” she said prior to the meeting.

For the first meeting, Brower took the time to update and frame the goals of the team, she said. This group will also be the first to hear her concerns.

“I’ll tell them where I’ve been and who I’ve met,” she said. Brower wants the members to evaluate what has been effective thus far.

The meeting included a section about the “stakeholders,” students, parents, teachers, staff, members of the community and the Board of Education.

Each member is expected to have conversations with their “constituents” to gage their views on challenges, questions and concerns, Brower said.

“We’re very fortunate to have a very intelligent woman,” Price said. “She’s on the ball. The whole idea of a transition team is a wonderful idea.”

Through the transition team, Brower is getting “thorough background and knowledge,” she said.

“Anytime someone new comes into office, there’s a learning curve and the transition team accelerates that curve,” Price said.

The transition team is a way for Brower to get to know the community, Rapsas said.

After the first meeting, Rapsas was impressed that Brower was taking each member in different perspectives, she said.

“As a parent, I thought that was awesome,” she said.

Rapsas is currently making a list for Brower of all the traditions that are vital to Lacey Township.

“It’s her really getting to know us and the community, she said. “She’s not Mr. Starodub. I hope a lot of people realize that. She’s someone different so we also have to get to know her too."

To Date

Since Brower has started, she has embarked on a project to update the school district’s website.

“We still have a long way to go,” Brower said.

The website is a place where people should be able to go for information on the school district, she said. “There are pockets that are current and others that are outdated and stale.”

Brower continues to blog on her experience as the new superintendent and will soon be adding a link for feedback, where members of the community will be able to anonymously submit their ideas, concerns and questions.

So far, Brower has met with Police Chief William Nally to discuss protocols and procedures, spoke with Mayor Gary Quinn and Recreation Director Jim Wioland and has attended activities such as a rotary meeting, school concerts and the high school soccer team’s banquets.

“I’m trying to really stay current and active,” she said.

Next week she will be observing police training in the schools and she plans to set up additional meetings with Nally and Quinn, as well as representatives of Oyster Creek Generating Station.

Currently, she is developing a calendar for her coffee hours with parents.

She is also engaging in structured interviews with a variety of individuals within the school district. She asks each person an assortment of questions.

“It’s been enlightening and thought provoking,” she said. “There’s a vision for change. It has been powerful.”