Dodson School welcomes new Superintendent

Though school starts for all Phillips County schools this Wednesday, school started for Dodson School's new Superintendent Gary Weitz a long time ago.

"School started 30 years ago for me and has never ended," Superintendent Gary Weitz said last Friday. "It's never ended and I am kind of a school-junkie. I love being around the school and not just on the work day."

Superintendent Weitz pointed toward the Confucius quote which states "choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life" as one of his approaches in choosing his life's work.

"I've never dreaded a day in my life," he added.

Superintendent Weitz comes to Dodson via Kalispell, but said he did much of his teaching in Walla Walla, Wash., where he taught Social Science, mainly U.S. Government, before becoming an administrator. Before his teaching career started, Weitz obtained both a Bachelor's and Master's in Social Science from Eastern Oregon University and is currently working toward his Doctorate at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.

Superintendent Weitz, who was interviewed last February, officially started work at Dodson on July 1 and is currently living in the town. He said that in the short time he has been in town he has learned a lot about the area.

"I'm impressed with the pride that the local people have here in this community," Weitz said. "And I am impressed with the history that they have and I'm impressed with the value they place in their school. In the first month or so that is what stands out the most as the staff here is, in my first impression, very professional, very positive, very passionate and you can just tell that this is a very close-knit group of people that are serious about helping their children succeed."

Weitz said that he is in good health, that he takes care of himself and figures he has got a least "10 good years" in him, if not more.

"I am passionate about being here," he added.

Weitz said that often time's smaller schools, in somewhat remote areas, have a high turnover in administration. He said he believes Dodson School is looking for stability in the school's administration and he gladly accepts that challenge.

"I'm just at a time in my life where I'm not looking for the next career move," Weitz said. "I'm looking to help contribute positively here and also meet some personal and professional goals. I feel that I've got the experience to help here and contribute positively."

Weitz points to the Nine Characteristics of Successful Schools as a template of what he hopes for Dodson School in the future. He said in 2006 he was a principal at a school that was nationally recognized as a blue ribbon school where the Nine Characteristics were stressed and bought into.

"At the core of that is a positive climate, culture and work environment," Weitz said. "That has to be at the foundation of every school."

Weitz said that with that foundation laid what follows is making sure that the school operates under Best Practices, operating with research-based curriculums as well as staying up-to-date as far as technology goes. Weitz added that the school recently made a purchase of Ipads for all of the elementary students and said he has seen phenomenal success with the Apple products used as teaching tools in reading and math in the past.

"It's like having 30 teachers in the classroom," Weitz said. "It has transformed how the teacher works in the classroom and to be without those tools in the classroom is an injustice. Where we have come in the last 10-years with technology is tremendous."