CASD superintendent stresses community involvement, academics, transparency
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Dr. Cathy Taschner
COATESVILLE – The desire to positively impact as many students as she can and a passion for Chester County are what drew Dr. Cathy Taschner to her new position as Coatesville’s Superintendent of Schools.
“There were a number of educators who want to be superintendent, but I said to the Board when I was interviewing, ‘I want to be superintendent of Coatesville,’” Taschner said during an interview on Wednesday.
But Taschner’s history with the city did not begin with her taking the superintendent job at the end of last month. Recounting the old office in the West End, She said that her mother worked for Lukens Steel for about 40 years.
“When I walk through the West End, when I walk through town, I have great memories of the time that I have been fortunate enough to spend here throughout my life, and that’s certainly what drew me back.
Formerly a principal at Twin Valley Middle School and assistant superintendent of Oxford and Susquehanna Valley, Taschner said that she has always wanted to help as many students as possible, which is what drove her to move from teacher to school administrator and then school administrator to central administrator.
She said that being a teacher allowed her to see how administrative decisions impact the classroom environment while her time as principal gave her experience managing educational matters on a school-wide level. In particular, working in the Oxford and Twin Valley school districts has prepared her for taking her new position in Chester County. Though she would not make any specific comments about last year’s controversies in Susquehanna Valley due to pending litigation, she said that she has valued her past experiences as an educator and administrator because it led her to the job as Coatesville superintendent.
For Taschner, reaching as many students as she can has not just meant working her way up in the school system; it has also meant reaching out to students whose needs are often overlooked. Since becoming an administrator, she has written and spoken in front of her peers about addressing the concerns of special education.
“It was during that time [as a principal] that I realized that there are many students who attend different schools not because necessarily the parents choose but because a school feels like they’re not capable of providing the services they need,” she said, “and out of that, it became important to me that students have the opportunity to be in their neighborhood school with their peers.
Taschner said that she believes that every student can learn and has value, and as such, special education has become a “lifelong passion” for her. Using her own contact lenses as an example, she said that everyone has some kind of disability, and everyone deserves an equal education and support group.
This way of thinking partially influenced the decision to train community members to sit in on individualized education plan meetings. In addition, she listened to people’s concerns at Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission meetings and wanted to offer support for those who were not happy with how the district handled those meetings.
“If you listen to those tapes and the things that were happening in the district, there was a disconnect. People felt like they weren’t necessarily always being heard at an IEP meeting,” she said.
Taschner thinks that these kinds of collaborations with the community will be what leads the Coatesville to success in the future.
“Certainly the strength of Coatesville, number one, is its community. There’s a community here that has stood up, stood by, and has really reached out to support the district,” she said, citing examples of the Brandywine Health Foundation, YMCA, New Life in Christ Fellowship, the Bridges Program, Caln Township, and WCHE as groups that have reached out to the district.
While she recognized her role as a leader, she emphasized that leadership means connecting those groups that are already present, whether it means those groups, teachers, administrators, or local businesses.
“It’s all about making sure that students have what they need,” she said.
In the past, she has coordinated efforts to assist teachers in learning from one another and writing curricula.
Talking to residents, Taschner believes that the bond between the district and community can still be strengthened. For example, she said that many people have expressed a desire for more transparency from the district.
“That is probably right now my biggest goal is to make sure that that people can see what we’re doing out in the open and that it continues to restore hope and their faith in what this district is going to become,” she said.
Part of her effort to strive for that transparency has been to organize collaboration with residents to improve the district website.
People have also said that they want to see a stronger emphasis on academics. As such, in four of her first nine days with the district, she said that she has met with administrators to discuss making classes smaller and sharpening curricula.
In order to better the quality of education while still being conscious of the budget, Taschner said much of the focus has to be on reallocation of resources so that they are “as close to the students as possible.”
“I think it’s possible; I think we can open up our schools with better class sizes than we’ve had in the past, that we can open our schools and be better prepared with our technology,” she said.
In order to better students’ access to technology she said that the Board is establishing a technology committee to figure out how to set up infrastructure and hardware to support all students. In the future, part of that support could mean allowing students to use their devices in class. Such a policy could allow the district to spend less money on purchasing technology and take better advantage of the wireless system that will be present at all schools this coming year.
But technology will not be the only difference in the classroom this year. Taschner said that the district’s administrators, including herself, will step up their presence in the schools. In the long term, she said that five years from now she wants to see a district that emphasizes academics more, has improved transparency, improved fiscal responsibility, and draws local businesses and homeowners.
