Mel Hall – With the Keystone Central School Board appointing Mark Condo as Associate Principal, his previous position as Director of Human Resources has been abolished.
Moderator Jacqueline Martin made the announcement during a Board working session Thursday night.
“I would like to point out that this is a new job position in our region, as Mark’s current position as Director of Human Resources will be eliminated as per the Organizational Chart recently approved by the Board,” said Martin. “So, this is not an additional position… In other words, there is no net addition to the number of officials at KCSD.”
Martin’s clarification comes after members of the public expressed concern about Kondo’s new stance.
Kondo’s new position is a “change of purpose for HR Director,” Martin said.
“Mr. Kondo has the credentials and experience to serve as a commissioned Commonwealth officer and I believe he would perform very well in this role,” she said.
During the business session, Martin expressed her support for the board’s decision to appoint Kondo as an assistant supervisor.
“He’s qualified, he’s certified, he does the work and he’s the one taking the calls” at all times, Martin said.
Martin said Kondo has received safety calls on weekends, midnight and early morning when requested by state police, an emergency such as bus accidents or any other time of emergency.
“Usually he is the first person alerted and then handles the dispatch. He gets the information as a safety officer and then provides the media updates.” “So I just wanted to say publicly that I support the board’s decision on this matter.”
Board members Jeff Johnston and Wayne Koch lent their support to hiring Kondo as well.
“I just want to add that we need someone in that position who has the proper certification and the proper guidance from the state to step in. Right now in his role, there are a lot of things he can’t do in terms of oversight, but he can do as an assistant,” Johnston said. Supervisor”.
“It’s a completely different role than it is now. So, I think it’s a wise move on our part and it doesn’t cost us more money in terms of setting up new centers. I think it would be a better fit from my point of view.” “I just think it would give him more power than he has now. I think it’s a smart move at this time to do that.”
Koch, who attended the working session virtually, said the move was long overdue.
“This is a long overdue step in the school district. If we need an assistant superintendent who goes back to where he was when I first joined the board in 2009, he hasn’t languished all this time yet,” he said. “So, it’s time to do it. And I’m glad it happened now.”
The working session, which lasted over two hours, also included a presentation of the overall plan for KCSD.
Megan Hull, Director of Curriculum Innovation for the district, outlined the district’s plan in detail and explained its mission: to develop lifelong learners who are adaptable, resilient, productive and of a high moral character.
“The comprehensive planning process has been underway for a while, and it will take us until 2026. Several board members, members of our community and our management team have been part of this steering committee and helped us put together a comprehensive plan that works for everyone,” Hull said.
The plan development process involved several stakeholder meetings involving students, parents, teachers, teacher leaders, administrators, community members, and board members.
“The feedback we got from the stakeholder group was then taken to create a draft learner profile and the feedback each stakeholder gave us regarding what we want our students to be able to do when they graduate and what important attributes we want students to have; That’s how we developed the profile,” Hull explained.
The KCSD Learner Profile includes four “Essential Stones for Success.”
Students who can demonstrate the skills and attributes in those building blocks will be prepared for the challenges and opportunities in their future; She said they make graduates who are responsible citizens, effective communicators, creative problem solvers, and respectful collaborators.
One component of the overall plan consists of academic and behavioral goals drawn from current data that show the area’s strengths as well as areas for development.
Hull explained that while analyzing this data, stakeholders asked what the district was doing effectively and what might not be effective. The focus then shifted to developing a plan to address areas of need among the area’s students.
One key area, Martin notes, is early literacy.
“We know that when students do better in early literacy, they also do better in all academic areas in their later years,” she said.
The first step to implementing the plan, if approved, was to present it to the school board.
Then, a KCSD profile of the learner will be shared with staff in order to develop graduation projects for grades 4, 8, and 12.
Finally, the overall plan objectives will be shared with all stakeholders and included in school improvement plans.