When in the difficult position of being overstaffed, the district really got creative.  The Board didn't want to cut jobs.  The Total Leaders Personal Assessment revealed some strong community activities and interests among the staff.  And soon a partnership was born with Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Windber Leadership Institute.  "Now one of the teachers spends half of his time doing research that enhances our teleconferencing capabilities," Dr. Padasak reports.

But the community partnerships didn't stop there.  "A thriving school district amid a starving borough and a crumbling library doesn't make sense.  We're all in this together,"Dr. Padasak added.  "When kids graduate, they'll need jobs.  So it follows that part of student success is economic development."  The school district collaborated with the county to seek a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) designation whereby the district, local government, and county forgive taxes for a period of ten years to encourage development of an industrial site to attract employers and bolster local economy.

Windber Area School District is located in Somerset County in Pennsylvania.  Total enrollment in its three schools (PK-12) is 1,500.  Visit www.windberschools.org.