I’Ve Had a Good Run’

By Robyn Meadows

Four Lancaster County school superintendents retire this week, and their families, hobbies and second careers will replace school bells.

Allan Thrush plays golf and likes to camp and visit lighthouses.

Linda Abele loves to sing and dance and plans to renovate her 1888 Carlisle farmhouse.

David Poore likes to run and collect model trains.

Jon Rednak golfs, is a “big” Steelers fan and enjoys working in his yard.

The four superintendents, of Elizabethtown, Donegal, Hempfield and Solanco school districts, respectively, are retiring. But they have plenty of hobbies to keep them busy.

Among the four of them, they have about 140 years of experience as educators. Their last day is Friday.

Rednak and Thrush, however, are planning second careers of sorts, but with reduced work hours.

As the four head toward a new life, here’s a peek into who they are and their time as superintendents.

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Thrush is 55 and has been the superintendent in Elizabethtown for the past 11 years. He and his wife, Lynda, a teacher who is retiring from Mechanicsburg School District, live on Crimson Lane in Elizabethtown.

Thrush will become a consultant with the organization Learning Focused Solutions. He’ll work with school districts and Intermediate Units on staff development.

He’s also going to do some church work and spend time with his first two grandchildren, whose births are expected in July.

And, “I plan to play a lot of golf,” Thrush said.

He’s ready.

Thrush began his career as an economics and American government teacher in Enola.

After serving in various leadership positions in the West Shore School District, he came to Elizabethtown to become its superintendent.

It was a difficult first year when the new leader became mired in controversy.

The school board had adopted a pro-family resolution and policy on sexual orientation that resulted in student walkouts, citizen protests, inflammatory school board debates and national media attention.

The board resolution was interpreted by many as discriminating against homosexuals and single-parent families.

But things eventually settled down and the district got back to work, he said.

The district under his leadership revised curriculum and “beefed up” staff development. It also began to use data in innovative ways.

For example, test scores were used to figure out how a particular classroom was performing in math. A teacher could then use the information to tailor classroom instruction.

Also the district launched literacy and bully-prevention programs.

“I like 95 percent of what I do,” Thrush said. The 5 percent he doesn’t like includes fielding phone calls from angry parents or residents. That’s never fun, and neither is calling off school because of snow.

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Abele and her husband, Rick, the principal of Carlisle High School in the Carlisle Area School District, live in Carlisle in a farmhouse built more than 100 years ago.

She is looking forward to renovating her home. She’s also thinking about teaching college classes for future administrators.

Abele, who declined to give her age, became the superintendent of Donegal eight years ago. She came to Donegal in 1997 to become the assistant supervisor of curriculum and instruction. She began her career as an elementary school teacher.

Among Abele’s accomplishments as superintendent: building a strong administrative team, with whom she credits for the district’s achievements.

She’s also proud of improvement in test scores. The district’s STRUCTURE program for at-risk students has been nationally recognized.

Abele also oversaw the creation of the Arts Alive Scholarship for students pursuing degrees in the arts.

The superintendency she said, comes with its share of good and bad.

Some of the good aspects include “having a child thank you for something you did and at the time, you didn’t realize how it would affect the individual.”

But the job carries its share of controversies. Abele said at times she’s felt “misunderstood” by the public and the media.

In December 2004, the district announced that it was cutting the hours of classroom aides because of a $720,000 shortfall in the budget. As a result, the district, and the superintendent, came under fire.

Many residents were angry and felt that the superintendent wasn’t explaining what happened and why.

Sometimes a school official can’t speak openly about a situation, she said, for example if it involves an employee.

“So the public extrapolates and speculates about what the truth is,” she said. “It’s very hard. There are only 501 people in Pennsylvania who will know what that means,” she added, referring to all of the superintendents across the state.

But the joys have been many, such as seeing student successes and performing in the staff musicals to raise money for the arts scholarship.

Abele had dreamed of becoming a singer/dancer on Broadway.

“If I hadn’t had to make a living, I would have gone off to New York to be on the Broadway stage,” she said.

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Poore is 59 and leaving Hempfield after three years as superintendent. He was the assistant superintendent for seven years previously. He began his career as a middle school science teacher and held leadership positions in the Red Lion and Donegal school districts.

Poore said he’s leaving to spend more time with his wife, Maria, and their four grandchildren. They live on Springfield Lane in Mountville.

As he ventures toward a new life, he said, “I’m not sure what I want to do.”

“I can’t remember ever saying that,” Poore said of not having a detailed plan.

Not knowing sounds like heaven but also gives him a bit of anxiety.

Poore said he will probably teach some college classes.

His wife, he joked, is probably not looking forward to Poore being around and disrupting her normal routine.

The Poores plan to travel in Europe.

“I’ve never been abroad,” he said.

Poore has been the type of administrator to take work with him on vacation.

The superintendent said his time at Hempfield has been worthwhile. He’s proud of the new Chinese language program introduced there and hopes the district expands into other languages such as Arabic.

He’s also excited about the distance-learning opportunities that Hempfield can now provide. Through the Internet, the district can broadcast a class to another district.

Poore’s three years in the office have been relatively quiet. The district did experience a handful of bomb threats earlier this year.

The issues were aggravating but were resolved.

Poore has loved his time at Hempfield. He believes he’s always tried hard to listen genuinely to the concerns of parents and residents.

“My decision may have been the opposite of what they asked,” Poore said. But he listened, he says, and he cared.

***

Rednak, 57, has been the superintendent of Solanco for the past six years. He and his wife, Carol, live on Farmington Way in New Providence.

He was the superintendent in the Blue Mountain School District in Schuylkill County for two years. He was also the superintendent of Columbia School District in Lancaster for nine years.

No matter where his office was, Rednak has always maintained an open-door policy.

He began his career as a social studies teacher, and he also coached football, wrestling and track.

Rednak isn’t walking away from education so easily. He will become the assistant executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, an education lobby group in Harrisburg. The group also helps small and rural schools conduct superintendent searches.

“I am certainly going to miss the job,” he said. “You can’t (be an educator) for 35 years, walk away, and not miss it.”

He will especially miss visiting classrooms.

Rednak had a tradition of stopping by every classroom once a year. That’s 240 classroom trips.

“In a position such as C

(c) 2007 Intelligencer Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.