Schuylkill Valley School District welcomed as new superintendent, Dr. Cindy Mierzejewski. From May 30 to June 30, Mierzejewski worked with former superintendent Dr. Warren Mata, who retired. Her first day was July 1.
“It was a great transition period. I really enjoyed it,” she said.
Previously, Mierzejewski was assistant superintendent at Wilson School District for two years.
“I have been in the county my whole life,” she said, talking about what brought her to Schuylkill Valley.
For 11 years, she worked at Berks County Intermediate Unit.
“I got to know a lot of people at Schuylkill Valley and just really enjoyed the staff that I worked with, the administrators. I knew that the Schuylkill Valley community was a wonderful, tight-knit community, a very supportive community, so when the superintendent position opened here, I looked at all of those factors and I thought would make a really good fit. And it has so far. I’ve enjoyed it very much.”
Mierzejewski said everyone at Schuylkill Valley is so helpful. She has a million questions and everyone has been helpful in answering them. Staff have been even volunteering information to help in her endeavor to get to the know the district and community.
When asked if she has a life philosophy that she lives by and works by, Mierzejewski replied that she believes in being a servant leader.
“I believe that the leaders are resources for everybody in the organization. The leaders are those people that should assist others in getting the job done. What do they need to get that job done and be that resource and assistance for them.”
Her roots in education date back to a high school chemistry teaching position about 30 years ago. Mierzejewski had graduated with a degree in chemistry and was working in a lab doing what she deemed interesting analytical lab work with food and clothing dyes. When a chemistry teaching position opened up at Central Catholic, she applied and got the job. This position started her teaching career. She taught chemistry for 13 years at Central Catholic and at Fleetwood.
“What I like about education is that when you sit back and look at it, there’s an impact on the future, there’s an impact on the lives of the students as they become adults and as they go into their careers and colleges. You don’t get to see it right away, you don’t get to see it everyday but when you’ve been in it as long as I have, you get to see not only those students but then you get to see their children and see the impact that it has had in the long term. That’s really a nice thing to be able to see, especially if you stay in the county, then it’s really a small world and you seem to know everybody then.”
In total, she has been working in the education field for about 30 years, including teaching and administration positions. Her favorite part about education remains getting to work with students, even though she doesn’t get to work with them everyday.
“When you have a rough day in the office with administrative things, to go into the buildings and sit in a classroom and to read to the students or just to watch them as they’re working and have conversations with them is the best.”
She misses working with the students everyday. All summer she has been eagerly awaiting the students return to school on Aug. 28.
“I can’t wait. I’m counting down the days,” she said.
