"Students First. Always" was the theme as Council Rock School District held a community forum with Superintendent finalist Andrew Sanko. Council Rock's Board of Directors informed the community on May 19 that the district intends to name Dr. Sanko superintendent of schools at an upcoming school board meeting.
The forum held May 26 was a chance for the community to get to know the 33-year district employee. Sanko has served in a variety of roles throughout his time at Council Rock, including as a fourth-grade teacher at Hillcrest Elementary and principal of both Holland Elementary and the former Richboro Middle. Since 2017, Sanko has served in his current role as director of K-12 education.
The forum included a performance by a Select Band from Goodnoe and Churchville Elementary Schools in addition to the National Anthem performed by Goodnoe 6th grader Liam McKernan. School Board President Edward Salamon kicked off the event with a short acknowledgment of the search process for a new superintendent.
Council Rock North junior Joshua Melamed gave a nostalgic speech about his time in the district and the impact Dr. Sanko (his former Principal at Holland Elementary) had on his life. The speech was followed by a statement from Dr. Mark Hoffman, the executive director of the Bucks County Intermediate Unit (Bucks IU).
"This is a very special place to me, it's a very special place to many people ... I can say this to you with confidence, no one takes better care of their kids than Council Rock," Sanko said.
Sanka explained the phrase "Students First. Always." means to him.
"Those words mean every conversation has to begin with, how does this provide to be something positive for students? And those words have to ... bookend it by asking what's the evidence? How do we know it was positive for kids," he said.
About bullying, Sanko said, "We do have to get a baseline and an understanding, and the best way we can do that is with everybody working together because once again we need to do this as a team. Many of these things spilling into the classroom are happening on social media."
On the topic of District communication, Sanko said, "It will be clear, it will be factual, and it will be student-centered ... I would like to offer a form about once a month on a weekend or an evening and pick a topic so that our community can come in, ask questions, get facts, and refrain from posting things on social media."
Hoffman asked Sanko about events occurring in Uvalde, Texas, specifically inquiring about what safety will look like in the district.
The incoming superintendent said, "What it looks like under me is that we continue to have that strong working relationship with our local police departments ... we continue to listen, listen, listen to the experts who are our first responders. And when they talk to us about access points and where we line our students up for a fire drill, we do it."
“A Chromebook does not replace good teaching and learning,” Sanko said. “Nothing replaces the face to face, eye to eye, emotion to emotion dialog."
In his concluding remarks, Sanko said, "Our focus is, our focus has been, and our focus needs to be, without exception, students first, always. .. .Council Rock has a proud past and a promising future."
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