Dear Members of the Bowling Green School Community:
I am excited to begin my work as your district superintendent!
To share a little information about myself, my career in education began 26 years ago. Over my career I have served as a teacher at Perrysburg Middle School for 13 years, the principal at Swanton Middle School for five years, and for the past eight years I have served as the superintendent of the Pike-Delta-York Local School District in Delta, Ohio (Fulton County). I earned my bachelor degree in Business Education from the University of Toledo, my master degree from Marygrove College, and my doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Findlay.
Since being named the Bowling Green City Schools superintendent in May, I have spent a lot of time listening and learning. Over the past few months, I have met with many people from our community—local government officials, school personnel, local business leaders, Bowling Green State University leadership, and community members from all areas of our school district—to begin building the positive relationships needed to lead our district. These many conversations have been very valuable.
A Superintendent Meet and Greet open house has been planned and will take place Monday, Aug. 7, from 5-7 p.m. at the district’s Performing Arts Center. Additionally, I will be holding Coffee with the Superintendent events on a regular basis around our community to provide an opportunity to connect. I hope to see you at these activities!
In addition to the many meetings noted above, I have recently purchased a home in Bowling Green, attended numerous community events such as the Firefly Nights, and have either joined or am in the process of joining local civic organizations such as the Bowling Green Kiwanis, the Bowling Green Exchange Club, and the Rotary Club of Bowling Green. I look forward to attending and being a part of other events within our community, such as the upcoming Rally BG on Main, and events within our school community as the school year begins.
My belief that BGCS is a great place has strengthened even more through my many conversations over the last few months. Additionally through my many conversations, I have also heard some opportunities for improvement, which all organizations have. We will always strive for continuous improvement! My philosophy is to take our challenges head on for the betterment of our students, our district, and our community as a whole. Whether our opportunity is academics, communication, facilities, public image, or trust, I believe we can always improve.
I am committed to providing information about BGCS to the community on a regular basis. The district will be implementing a detailed communication plan that will include many different mediums for sharing information about BGCS. This plan includes communications such as multiple social media posts on district accounts daily, mailed newsletters, a district Quality Profile publication, and a Districtwide School Calendar, just to name a few. I ask for your patience as this commitment to a complete communication plan will take time to implement fully; however, once in full swing I believe you will feel connected to our schools.
One item I would like to address now is the area of staffing and who has access to our students. I am very sorry some in our community are hurting from our recent history. My heart goes out to the students and families impacted. Being new to BGCS, and only now taking over as the district leader, I cannot change the past but I can give you my word for the future. This community has my word that anyone with consistent access our students will be vetted and only those with a clean background will be allowed to be associated with our district and children.
As I begin my tenure on Aug. 1 as the BGCS superintendent, I want to say thank you. Thank you for making me feel welcome to Bowling Green and the Bowling Green City Schools. I look forward to working together with all stakeholders to make BGCS a pillar in our community. I am honored to serve the students, families, community, and staff of Bowling Green City Schools. I promise that our District will work hard to improve each day to provide a high-quality education for our students, a financially sound organization for our stakeholders, and be a point of pride for the entire community.
Sincerely,
Ted Haselman, Ed. D.
Superintendent
Bowling Green City Schools
