Among his accomplishments at North Union, Smith said he helped oversee construction of a new middle school, raised academic scores and expanded the engineering and robotics programs.
“In every year of our organization, I think we’ve seen growth and improvement,” he said, “and I’m proud of that.”
Smith was in contact with someone in the committee hired to find a new superintendent for Hi-Point, he said, and he was aware of some of the things Hi-Point had done in the district.
“They had an interest in me and I was researching them and had an interest in them,” Smith said, “and this is a good opportunity for me to do something different in education.”
Smith’s first step as superintendent will be to analyze where Hi-Point is and work with administration and staff to determine the next steps, he said.
“I’m very excited about this new opportunity and coming to a great organization already and am hoping that we can find ways to grow it and make it even better,” he said.
Smith did not take the traditional route into education. After graduating high school, he served in the U.S. Air Force for about nine years. His first degree was in aircraft maintenance from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Price, who is finishing up his fourth year as superintendent at Ohio Hi-Point, said the biggest challenge facing education and business across the board is workforce development.
“The challenge is matching the skills that are needed out there by our business community with the skills that we’re teaching at our community center,” Price said.
Smith mentioned the same problem, saying people talk about the need for a quality workforce in the next two to five years.
“The challenge is figuring out what skill sets they’ll need in the future and how we modify what we’re doing to produce a quality workforce to come out in the next few years,” Smith said.
The key, Smith said, is helping students and young people find their passion and then helping them pursue that.
“To be productive members of society is important,” he said.
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