Still, he understood the challenges of urban schools — where superintendents stay an average 3.7 years, according to the Ohio School Boards Association.
“In the beginning, people thought I was just coming to build my resume to move onto the next position,” said Price, whose last day is Friday, July 31. “That was my promise when I came to Middletown, to be totally committed to this community. To be fully integrated into the community. To bring a family that wanted to stay here and do everything we could on behalf of kids.
“And I feel like I’ve done that. I feel like I can look myself in the mirror and say I’ve done that every day.”
Price’s vision for Middletown saw almost immediate success, passing levies on the first try and getting approval on a bond issue for elementary schools that had previously failed.
“We got them out of Academic Watch, we built new buildings and we had some success in reducing the achievement gap,” he said.
But as the economy began to sink and many AK Steel employees were without work for a year, discontent among some grew as improvement didn’t come fast enough for the community, or for Price .
“ The community demands and wants more, and they should always do that, and so should boards ,” he said.
Price’s work allowed him to grow into an advocate for equity and addressing underlying issues by examining individuals, not creating new programs.
His work earned him a prestigious award, and even still has him making presentations, including one Aug. 1 at the National Superintendents Roundtable meeting in Cincinnati.
“I’ve never had to work a day in my life, because I love what I’m doing. ... It’s the most rewarding profession there is; it really is,” he said.
Job leading a school district is a ‘lifestyle’
Middletown City Schools Superintendent Steve Price will leave the district after seven years Friday, July 31. The Journal sat down with the outgoing superintendent to reflect on his tenure with the district.
Q: How has working at Middletown City Schools impacted you?
A: When I first came here, and the board asked me to address issues of diversity and the building issues and achievement gap, I looked at this as a professional endeavor, and it really never dawned on me that it was going to become kind of a life-changing thing too. ... It had an impact on just how I raise my family, how I interact in the community, how I interact with people in my life, how I see the world. ... I know that not everybody agrees with the leadership that I provided, but for me personally, I appreciate what Middletown has offered me. The opportunities, the people that I've had a chance to meet and work with, have helped shape who I've become as a leader and as a person. ... I feel like there have been people around that have really helped me grow, from my board right through to community members to professionals that I've work with in the area to the people that I've met on a national level, because this job has afforded me that opportunity.
I feel blessed; I really do. Things right now, even though I’m leaving the district on mutually agreeable terms, as far as me as a person, I couldn’t have asked for better opportunities in development than I’ve gotten here.
Q: Do you think you accomplished the priorities set for you?
A: I'm obviously very happy with the building project, because that was something they said couldn't be done. ... The survey results were telling us that the bond issue didn't have a chance to pass. And because of the work of some and the grass-roots movement of some really, really dedicated people in this community who believed in that vision, we got it done. ...
And then we passed two operating levies on the first ballot. ... Those were exciting times of support, anticipation, hope, excitement. ...
And then when the economy started turning and AK Steel had their lockout, people got very, very upset with asking for more money. That was extremely painful to see what we had to do to this school district. That’s not why I got into the business. I didn’t get into the business, one to be a fundraiser to try to pass tax issues all the time. I didn’t get into the business to cut services to kids and hurt kids. And so that was really one of the most painful and difficult things in my career to recommend those cuts and have the board act on those.
But it was also when we had our performance index score go up to 84.5 and moved (from a Academic Watch on the state report card) into Continuous Improvement. ... We’re hoping our performance index scores will go back up this year and that we’ll continue that trend of moving up, but we don’t know yet. ...
Two years ago, when we look at all the reading and math scores that were measured on the state test, we were able to raise scores of white students, raise scores of African-American students and reduce the gap in seven or eight of those 14 categories. So that was exciting, too.
Q: What do you think your legacy will be?
A: The buildings, that will be a legacy. ... And certainly I'm going to be remembered for the equity work, I think, that I introduced in Middletown. I know that it had an impact on lives, a positive impact on lives of many staff members and many students and parents in this district. And so I hope that's what my legacy's going to be.
And that we did move this school district up in the level of achievement, not as far and as fast as some people wanted, but the direction was up. ... Achievement improved, the achievement gap did narrow, and we got new buildings built. So I’m leaving it in better shape than when I arrived, I believe. Did it happen as far and as fast as everyone wanted? It didn’t happen as far and as fast as I wanted, but there were a lot of circumstances surrounding that.
Q: What do you hope Middletown continues working on?
A: There's lots of things that have started that need to continue to move on. I'd like to see things like our Step Up Mentoring Program expand and include more kids. I'm looking forward to hearing how the ninth-grade academy is going to go. ... I hope I can stay involved with the Middletown Promise. I'd like to be able to stay involved with that because I helped get that started, even though it's incorporated now as a not-for-profit. The equity work, certainly, I would like to see continue with the expectations that all kids can learn and we can close that achievement gap. ... Those are things that I would like to see grow and get better and continue. ... Those are legacies that I can point to and say ... I had some influence on those things, getting them established here.
Q: What are you favorite memories?
A: A bunch of things come to mind. Seeing those high school kids a couple board meetings ago about the social justice class. ... We talk about critical thinking; they were demonstrating it.
It was really fun to go to all the groundbreaking ceremonies for new buildings. ... Individual things like when I used to go read to kids or teach a class. ... Those will always be fun in my career getting back into classrooms and staying close to that.
It was fun to have my kids in the school where I was superintendent.
It’s fun for me to do the number of graduations I got to do. To see our kids being successful, graduating high school. ... Helping to found the Consortium (on Race and Equity) ... and being a part of professionals that really believe in that work.
There were a lot of good things. This is not a job. The superintendency is a lifestyle. All I ever wanted in this district was for our kids to do well. ... And I only have good memories. I have no regrets for doing that. It’s something I love to do and it’s something I look forward to doing in the future. In the simplest terms, that’s what it’s about. It’s not about adults; it’s about kids and it’s about helping kids become what they want to become and do as well as they possible can.
Q: Did anything take you by surprise during your career?
A: The one thing I've learned in this job is there's not too many things that surprise you anymore. ...There certainly were early on some real challenges: Trying to convince this community that there was a lot to be hopeful for and there was a lot to be thankful for in the community at large and in the school district. When we were able to do that in the beginning by passing the bond issue and passing the levies, it got on a roll, and people started believing. That wasn't really a surprise though, because the board was pretty honest with me when I came in here; they told me what the challenges were going to be. And those same challenges continue to exist.
Q: Were you prepared for the feedback you got on programs?
A: Every element that I was talking about, there was another element in the community that wasn't happy with that or some part of that or something to do with that. And that is one of the challenges of surviving leadership in a complex, large, diverse district is that everybody has different opinions, and so whether it was because a building was moving to a different location or whether it was because you didn't agree with combining the tax levies when we did. That's the great thing about public education, is opinions are heard. ... But part of leadership is you don't make everybody happy all the time. When you have to make difficult decisions or difficult recommendations, not everybody's going to be happy. ... When you do enough of those, sooner or later there are some people that aren't going to be happy. When you do that over seven-and-a-quarter years, that's a lot of issues that you're dealing with.
Q: What's next for you?
A: I love being a superintendent, and my plans are to continue to seek a superintendent seat. But if there is an interim between that, I have opportunities to consult ... (and) to do some adjunct teaching at the university. That gives me time to read and research, and do some of the things that this job doesn't always allow you the time for. ... But my heart is being a superintendent or working in a school district in some leadership capacity. That's what I enjoy doing.
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