SUPERINTENDENT LOOKING FORWARD
TO SPENDING MORE TIME WITH FAMILY
A
s superintendent of the Fox Chapel Area School
District, Gene Freeman, Ed.D., sees children on
a regular basis. He admits, though, that some
of his attention these days is on a little girl who
lives more than 2,000 miles away.
Dr. Freeman became a grandfather in January when his
daughter, Alexandra, and her husband, Brad, welcomed Emma
Joyce to their family.
It didn’t take long after meeting his first grandchild for Dr.
Freeman to know he wanted to spend more time with his
family. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to make that happen with
the long hours and other demands that come with being Fox
Chapel Area’s superintendent, he made what he called a “very
difficult decision” to step down from his post in June 2020.
“Being a grandparent has changed my perspective on how I
spend my time,” Dr. Freeman said. “This certainly wasn’t a
decision that I expected to make, but I feel that it’s the right
decision at the right time for me.”
Dr. Freeman and his wife, Allison, plan to spend time in
Nevada, where his daughter lives and is an elementary school
teacher, and also in his home state of North Carolina, where
his 84-year-old mother still resides.
While he said he’s pleased with the district’s solid finances and
the working relationship he’s had with the staff, Dr. Freeman
said he’s most proud of the focus on educating the whole
child in the five years that he’s been at the helm of Fox Chapel
Area.
“I’m really proud that when I got here, it was a good district,
and I’m leaving it a great district. Our success is noted, and it
can’t be denied.”
Dr. Freeman cites a rise in local, regional, and national
rankings, and an improvement in the district’s test scores.
For example, in
2019, the Fox
Chapel Area
School District
was named among
the top five
school districts
in the state by
the Pittsburgh
Business Times.
In Niche’s 2020
rankings, the
district ranked in
the top 1% of
schools nationally
in the categories
of Best School
Districts, Districts
Dr. Freeman’s daughter, Alexandra, with her
daughter, Emma.
14
FOX CHAPEL AREA
Superintendent Gene Freeman, Ed.D., with his mother, Joyce; his
daughter, Alexandra; and his granddaughter, Emma.
with the Best Teachers, Best Places to Teach, and Safest
School Districts.
“I believe that Gene’s legacy is the fact he always did what
he felt was best for the students in the district, regardless of
whether it was a popular decision,” said former Fox Chapel
Area School Board Vice President Nancy Foster. “He saw the
potential in each and every student. He put touchpoints in
place to provide frequent feedback to the teachers on each of
their students to ensure they were grasping the concepts being
covered. He wanted to make sure each student grew year to
year regardless of their starting level. The success of this
program is evident in the improvement in our rankings.”
The benchmarking process that Dr. Freeman implemented
shortly after arriving at Fox Chapel Area also garnered praise
from parents.
“Dr. Freeman made changes that led to noticeable
improvements in our kids’ educational experiences,” said
Susan Buchman of O’Hara Township.
Ashley Constantine, Ed.D., the district’s executive director
of elementary education and instruction, said another
legacy of Dr. Freeman’s will be the innovative programs he
conceptualized, namely the Pre-Kindergarten and Spanish
Immersion classrooms, which opened at Kerr Elementary
School at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.
“Thanks to Dr. Freeman, both programs are making a
significant impact on the achievement and growth of our
students,” Dr. Constantine said. “We are sad to see him go but
wish him the best of luck.”