MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — When Deborah Houser takes over as Middletown's superintendent next month, she'll be the first woman to hold the position in the district's 170-year history.
Houser is no stranger to the district. She is the current assistant superintendent and has worked for the district in a number of roles for 15 years.
"First to me it's like 'wow, that's pretty cool' because you have to think the majority of educators are female," she said. "So when I stop to think, it's like - what an honor ... and then you think of all the little girls who will wake up and go 'wow, I can do that too.' We like to see ourselves in all the different positions, so I think it's pretty cool."
The Board of Education included her in its succession plan for superintendent Marlon Styles in 2019. Styles is leaving to take a job at a national education firm.
"I just feel the pressure," Houser said. "My number one goal is that no one misses a beat. We've worked so hard the past few years to get where we are with new initiatives and we're really moving. So, the pressure for me is just to make sure that we keep moving, that there's no pause."
Houser spent much of her time with Middletown working on curriculum and building the district's strategic plans - including the Passport to Tomorrow program, which introduces students to careers and real-world work environments starting in kindergarten.
"What we found is high school is too late, you can't wait until high school to expose kids to what the world has," she said. "We've allocated money for our students to go out not just stay within the four walls."
Houser faces challenges ahead too, as school districts across the country deal with a COVID-19 learning gap and increased attention on curriculum and parent oversight. Though Houser says the district is near full staff, filling open positions in education is proving a challenge across the Tri-State. In Columbus, the state Board of Education could be stripped of its powers to make policy, while lawmakers fight over vouchers and claims of Critical Race Theory.
"Yes, it is a lot of noise, but it's about tuning out that noise and really being true to what you're trying to do," she said.
Middletown City Schools has made progress in its state report cards over the years. It lags in early literacy where it earned one star in the most recent report card. Houser said reading skills is a key focus for her - and she's got support from Governor Mike DeWine, who announced new reading initiatives during his State of the State address.
"We've put different programs in place, all centered around science of reading and how you teach children how to read," Houser said. "So that one star will soon grow."
The district just received $800,000 from the state for safety and security, which Houser said will go into more streamlining of the existing security apparatus and some expansion. Right now, the ten-school district has six school resource officers.
"That's really your number one job, to make sure they're safe when they're under your care," she said. "So, we've been working for the past few years to streamline and update our safety and security protocols. Looking at each building, what's in place and what's needed."
Houser said her biggest challenge moving into the new role would be letting go of her old one - the builder. But that's also the biggest opportunity she has - to navigate the rollout of the remainder of the Passport to Tomorrow and the district's role in the expansion and renovation of the city's community center.
"Not missing a beat, that's priority number one," she said. "We can't afford to pause."
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