OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — When Osceola County’s newest School Superintendent, Dr. Mark Shandoff, starts his new job at the beginning of the school year in August, he said he had already mapped out the first three months.
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Dr. Standoff is no stranger to classrooms. Before accepting Osceola’s Superintendent position, he was an educator for the Orange and Osceola County School districts.
Channel 9′s Chantelle Navarro sat down and spoke to Dr. Stanoff about his plans to make the school year successful.
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“Oh, my goodness, we are going to be very busy in our first 100 days,” said Dr. Stanoff.
Osceola’s newest superintendent said he plans to move around the County in the first 90 days
He added his plans include town hall meetings at each public high school.
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But even on his first day on the job, there are plans to meet with teachers and staff, parents, and community members. In between those meetings, Dr. Stanoff said he wants to focus on the district’s dire need to fill jobs during August.
Right now, there are 327 open teacher positions, and Dr. Shanoff hopes to recruit retired military vets and strengthen relationships with local colleges and reach out to colleges out of state,
He said he’s also eyeing Georgia, New York, and Texas teachers for job fair opportunities.
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Also, in August, Dr. Standoff plans to investigate how to help the 26,000 students with chronic absenteeism, discipline data by September, graduation rates by October, and language help for kids still learning English by November.
Dr. Standoff feels that by giving the community more access to him. He can also learn from them.
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While Dr. Stanoff has an ambitious agenda ahead of him, he said he is very excited to hit the ground running.
“I derive my energy from seeing students have meaningful conversations with teachers, so that’s where I intend to spend my first 100 days.”
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The first town hall is set for August.
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