Carole Geary has taken over the helm as Pleasant Valley School District's superintendent as of Aug. 1. But she's no stranger to PV's hallowed halls. She began her tenure at PV fresh out of college in 1985 as a math teacher at Pleasant Valley High School, and with an exception of two years, spent the last 28 years dedicated to the education of PV's students.

Geary was born and raised in Bradford, Pa. in McKean County. ("Not to be confused with Bradford County," she says.)Being a teacher was something she aspired to from the time she was a little girl."My stuffed animals were my students. As I went through school, math was my strength so when my father told me I would never get a job as a kindergarten teacher, which is what I wanted to do, I decided to study mathematics instead," says Geary.She graduated from Bradford High School in1981, then Slippery Rock University with a B.S. in secondary math education in 1985. She began teaching math at PVHS that fall."I taught in the high school for 12 years and loved every minute of it," she says.She earned her M.S. in secondary education in 1996 from East Stroudsburg University.In her fifth year of teaching, the state initiated a Peer Coaching initiative and one teacher from each building was selected to be trained in that role. Geary was the teacher selected for the high school."I was quite surprised since there were many very good teachers with a lot more experience than I had, but I was selected by my building administration. I was very honored and it was a really wonderful experience," says Geary."That experience was the first that put me in a leadership role in my school. I thoroughly enjoyed working with teachers in a different capacity. As time went on, I was put into more leadership roles and really enjoyed making a greater impact in the school. When Dr. (Anthony) Senese moved into the assistant superintendent's position, John Gress was offered the high school principal's position as an interim. The board wanted to try him out before they gave him the job totally."He came to my calculus class to talk to me about being his assistant. He told me it was a one-year gig until the board decided on the high school principal position. I wasn't sure I wanted to leave the classroom, so taking a one-year try at the job was very appealing. I wasn't certified at the time so I had to take 24 credits in two semesters to be finished by the end of the school year," says Geary."If they kept John at the principal's position, I could possibly stay in the assistant role if I was finished with my certification. It was a crazy year for a million reasons, but I did finish my degree (education administration, ESU, 1998). That year helped me to realize that a person could make a much bigger positive impact on the school in that role. The rest, as they say, is history."She served two years as PVHS's assistant principal and then as the principal at Stroudsburg High School from 1999-2001.From 2001-2003, she was the principal at Chestnuthill Elementary School and the math supervisor at PVHS. She earned her Superintendent's Letter of Eligibility from Marywood University in 2003 and spent the following 10 years until present as the assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction at PVSD. She is currently working on her doctorate in education administration at Widener University.As she begins her superintendent duties, she says she and the district have five goals that will be the focus of her work and the work of her administrative team."Improving student achievement is at the top of that list. Similar to my role in curriculum, student achievement is my focus," says Geary. "We need to continue to provide the best education for our children that is possible. My job is to support the administration who supports teachers to ensure our children are getting the very best we have to offer. Sometimes that means working to get a lab put together for life skills. Sometimes that means finding grant money to provide school based counseling."Student Safety is always a focus and I am happy that Pleasant Valley has always been well ahead of the curve in this area," she adds."Professional development is the third goal and an area that has been a really strong focus in the past seven years, which has contributed to our increase in student achievement."Communication with all stakeholders is a focus for everyone and is the fourth goal. We are working to improve in this area and have made great strides with our website and Facebook page in recent years. We will be working to continue to improve in this area."The final goal is to continue to evaluate enrollment and facilities to ensure that we are right sized and fiscally responsible to our community.Geary says that PV's major issue is the same as every school district's ... that of school funding."Until the state makes some changes or headway in this area, we will work to contain costs as much as possible to ease the burden on our public," she says.When Geary isn't working to give PV's students a first-class education, she enjoys volunteering at Quiet Valley Historical Living Farm and serves on the board for Pocono Area Transitional Housing."I get great satisfaction out of being involved in both. When I have time off I like to travel both domestically and internationally. There is so much to learn from other people in other cultures."And in-between everything, she is writing her dissertation.As she begins her new duties as superintendent, she would like the students, staff and residents of the Pleasant Valley School District to know this: "I am a teacher first and foremost. I will do my best to ensure that we are providing high quality instruction within the fiscal means of our community."