The West Greene School District is welcoming new leadership this year with the appointment of Superintendent Eric Gaydos. He brings a wealth of experience in education and a passion for student success, Gaydos steps into the role eager to build on the district’s strengths while embracing fresh opportunities for growth. Known for his collaborative approach and commitment to the community, he’s ready to lead West Greene into an exciting new chapter.
When asked what he learned from his predecessor, Mr. Brian Jackson, Gaydos responded, “My biggest takeaway from my time working closely with Mr. Jackson was seeing how his ability to stay cool under pressure led to making the best decisions in those situations. I plan to continue working towards modernizing our campus and learning spaces. I was once told you cannot expect students to think outside of the box when they are being taught inside of one.”
West Greene has been making improvements in recent years. The district recently started giving every student a Chromebook, developed an E-sports program, and elevated their FFA program. If Gaydos continues this tradition, it’s clear that he’ll have no problem achieving his goal of further modernizing the district to improve student learning capabilities.
Mr. Gaydos short-term and long-term goals for West Greene are many. Regarding the near future, “One of our biggest priorities will be the creation of a new District Comprehensive Plan. This three-year plan will require us to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data to identify areas of strength and concern from both performance and perception data. We will then create goals and action steps to complete the plan.
Additionally, while I am very proud of the progress we’ve made since I arrived at West Greene in 2019, we can’t stop looking at ways to enhance academic excellence and future readiness. We need to look at how we can expand and strengthen our current programming that prepares our students for life beyond high school.”
His long-term goals consisted of implementing a “data-driven enrollment and growth strategy” to put an end to the trend of declining enrollment in the school district, along with continuing to keep the district infrastructure modernized and sustainable.
When asked what he wanted the West Greene community to know about his leadership style, Gaydos made it very clear he wants everyone to know he’s there to create an environment that encourages students to take risks and push themselves.
“I like to remove the excuses from the table. If a goal is truly worthwhile, then we need to find a way to make it happen. The difficult task is to create a school culture where teachers and students feel comfortable enough to take chances. I am one who has the mindset that we shouldn’t have to do things because that’s the way we always did it.”
“I recently heard a quote that resonated with me that states, ‘If we aren’t failing, then we aren’t trying big enough things.’ In reality, failure is where learning occurs. What needs to be clarified is that there is a difference between failing while providing no effort and failing through trying.”
With his forward-thinking vision, dedication to innovation, and focus on creating a culture where both students and staff can take bold steps toward success, Eric Gaydos is poised to guide West Greene into a future full of opportunity. His commitment to modernizing learning spaces, fostering academic excellence, and addressing long-term challenges head-on shows a leader ready to match action with ambition. As the district embarks on this next chapter, the West Greene community can be confident that its new superintendent is not only prepared to continue its tradition of growth, but to push it further than ever before.
welcome; Brian did a good job during his time for sure. All is good and the WG district must face the music of declining population, and therefore, less students. The coal company, while a major employer in the area, and also the tax base by which the school survives, is the number one contributor to declining enrollments….the coal company longwalls, destroys foundations of homes/barns, people lose their water source if well or reservoir; and the coal company does what it always does…is throw money at the problem to make it go away…and what’s going away, is the structured family of a husband, a wife, and children. The coal company has the structures demolished; and the lands remain vacant until the coal company turns into the states largest real estate venture in another 50-75 years. Farms and construction jobs (and coal mine activity) keep some families in the WG school district, but the past 50 years, declining numbers in the class room can be correlated to lack of other gainful employment opportunities other than coal mine operations. The young people who graduate from WG often move away, to better opportunities; other than there family roots there is nothing here to keep them….while they are tied to the land they love, it’s just not enough for Generation Y Z and others. Another fact to face, is young people today are putting off marriage until later in order to build their careers; and many young people are refraining from marriage as well as child rearing. Greene County will have one school system, or maybe no more than two, in 50 more years….consolidation is better than beating a dead horse. Go PIONEERS!