A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
Dear Friends,
Lately, I have found myself thinking about the meaning of the word
“success.” What is success? It can have so many different meanings,
depending on circumstances and abilities. Success can be simple,
or complicated. For some people, success is the everyday things that
others take for granted. Some people make success seem effortless.
For others, success takes years of hard work and perseverance. So
often, success is measured by awards and achievements. Fortunately,
significant recognitions are not something unusual for the Fox
Chapel Area School District. In fact, recently, the Pittsburgh Business
Times 2019 Honor Roll Rank places the district at number two in
Southwestern Pennsylvania and at number five in the state. We are
climbing in the rankings!
But, you know, maybe it isn’t all about the awards. Maybe it’s about the
hard work that accompanies the recognitions – about the journey we
take to attain success.
We have students like Rajeev Godse, featured on the cover, who was
one of only two in the world to attain a perfect score on the Advanced
Placement (AP) Statistics Exam. Success such as his doesn’t come
effortlessly. It stems from his diligence to be the best that he can be.
It comes as the result of the hard work of his parents and family who
support him and want the very best for him. It stems from his teachers
whose efforts further his knowledge. It comes from our community
members, who have supported our schools, whether it be through tax
money or believing in the mission of our district – to maximize student
learning, achievement, and development.
I think success is about the work that takes place every day in our
schools. This is work not just done by our teachers, but by others as
well. Success is about our School Board, who trusts our administrators
and gives us the tools to do our jobs in a way that develops the
potentials of our students. Success is about our support staff, those
cleaning and maintaining our buildings, feeding our kids, and helping
our students daily in the schools. Success is about our students who
work hard to better themselves, to make their parents and guardians
proud, and to make the world a better place. Success is also about the
entire community caring for our children.
I also know what success isn’t. It isn’t resting on our laurels waiting for
the next award. Success is about hard work – how we make it happen
for our students every day. It’s about how the leaders in our district
better themselves for the good of each of our students. It’s about
figuring out how to constantly be better, be stronger, be prepared for
the future.
Rajeev is only one example of success. In the end, the success of
our students is our success. It’s about taking a back seat and letting
our students reap the rewards of what the adults work hard to help
them achieve.
Sincerely,
Gene Freeman, Ed.D.
Superintendent
10
FOX CHAPEL AREA
Recently, the Pittsburgh
Business Times 2019 Honor
Roll Rank places the district
at number two in Southwestern
Pennsylvania and at number
five in the state.