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The Times-Tribune - Ark. native named SSSD superintendent
The superintendent’s home finally has a resident.
After a three-year national search for someone to lead the Scranton State School for the Deaf, Monita G. Hara, Ed.D., has been appointed to the position.
Dr. Hara moved into the stately, four-floor house on the North Washington Avenue campus earlier this month. She spent the last two weeks meeting with administrators and staff and getting accustomed to operations at the school for the deaf and hearing impaired, which will enroll about 100 students this fall.
“I feel very honored to have been selected to lead this school,” the Arkansas native said. “It’s a phenomenal place, and it’s a beautiful area.”
After the school’s former superintendent, Dorothy Bambach, Ed.D., retired three years ago after a 34-year career at the school, a nationwide search began.
During the interim, business manager William O’Neill acted as superintendent.
The school has nine open positions, ranging from health and physical education instruction to school psychologist.
In a time when the inclusion of special education students in mainstream classrooms is being stressed, Dr. Hara said the School for the Deaf still has a defined place. The school’s technology, one-on-one instruction and preparation of students for adulthood and independence is unmatched, she said.
“I feel I have a very good insight into what the needs are for the students,” said Dr. Hara, who added that after teaching in public schools for 15 years, she knows the pros and cons of both types of education.
Opened in 1880, the school has had an enrollment of about 100 students each year, said spokesman John Corkill. The residential school is the only state-operated school for the deaf in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Hara, who can hear but is fluent in American Sign Language, has worked across the country, most recently at the New York School for the Deaf in White Plains, N.Y.
She has a law degree from Miles Law School and a doctorate in education from Auburn University, both in Alabama. Her salary is $100,421, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
During her tenure, Dr. Hara has many goals, including promoting the use of technology and strengthening relationships with other schools for the deaf and with other community institutions.
Dr. Hara has already adjusted to life in Scranton.
Last week, when the prop master of “The Office” invited businesses to provide him with items for possible use on future episodes, Dr. Hara was there with School for the Deaf pencils and posters in hand.
“This school and what it stands for is a very big part of Scranton,” she said.
The superintendent’s home finally has a resident.
After a three-year national search for someone to lead the Scranton State School for the Deaf, Monita G. Hara, Ed.D., has been appointed to the position.
Dr. Hara moved into the stately, four-floor house on the North Washington Avenue campus earlier this month. She spent the last two weeks meeting with administrators and staff and getting accustomed to operations at the school for the deaf and hearing impaired, which will enroll about 100 students this fall.
“I feel very honored to have been selected to lead this school,” the Arkansas native said. “It’s a phenomenal place, and it’s a beautiful area.”
After the school’s former superintendent, Dorothy Bambach, Ed.D., retired three years ago after a 34-year career at the school, a nationwide search began.
During the interim, business manager William O’Neill acted as superintendent.
The school has nine open positions, ranging from health and physical education instruction to school psychologist.
In a time when the inclusion of special education students in mainstream classrooms is being stressed, Dr. Hara said the School for the Deaf still has a defined place. The school’s technology, one-on-one instruction and preparation of students for adulthood and independence is unmatched, she said.
“I feel I have a very good insight into what the needs are for the students,” said Dr. Hara, who added that after teaching in public schools for 15 years, she knows the pros and cons of both types of education.
Opened in 1880, the school has had an enrollment of about 100 students each year, said spokesman John Corkill. The residential school is the only state-operated school for the deaf in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Hara, who can hear but is fluent in American Sign Language, has worked across the country, most recently at the New York School for the Deaf in White Plains, N.Y.
She has a law degree from Miles Law School and a doctorate in education from Auburn University, both in Alabama. Her salary is $100,421, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
During her tenure, Dr. Hara has many goals, including promoting the use of technology and strengthening relationships with other schools for the deaf and with other community institutions.
Dr. Hara has already adjusted to life in Scranton.
Last week, when the prop master of “The Office” invited businesses to provide him with items for possible use on future episodes, Dr. Hara was there with School for the Deaf pencils and posters in hand.
“This school and what it stands for is a very big part of Scranton,” she said.
