Man with a plan
By LINDSAY HICKS
Cherry Hill Sun
8/30/2006

Cherry Hill’s new schools chief stresses communication, building on district’s strengths

Students attending orientations, getting to know their peers and learning the issues affecting their schools won’t be alone in these back-to-school experiences. David Campbell, the Cherry Hill School District’s new superintendent, begins his first school year along with the students heading back to the classroom Sept. 7.

But unlike many students stepping through the front doors with little more than anticipation and a fresh notebook, Campbell came to Cherry Hill with a plan.

Thirty-eight years of experience in education make the superintendent comfortable wit his move to the township, he said, but every state and community is different, and he plans to focus on getting to know Cherry Hill’s unique culture.

“I came here not with a specific plan of things to change, but wanting to get to know people, take my time and listen,” he said.

On top of the obvious meetings associated with being the new to the district, Campbell layered 100 hours devoted to interviewing and meeting key stakeholders and leaders within the school district to round out his orientation. The superintendent already logged 60 of those hours by the end of last week.

So far, Campbell says he feels genuinely impressed with the quality of staff in all position titles, one of the reasons he came to the district in the first place.

“It’s always great to know that you’re joining a strong team,” he said.

Campbell mentioned two other primary reasons for wanting to join the district as its superintendent rather than retire after leaving Upper Moreland School District in Montgomery County, Pa. He said colleagues told him about the district’s reputation for academic success and instructional leadership, which he plans to maintain using the continuous improvement model that is a hallmark of his career.

Campbell also appreciates the value the community places on high-quality education.

“The public confidence in this school district is built on a firm foundation of academic achievement,” he said, “and certainly, I’m going to do everything I can do to maintain and improve that reputation.”

The superintendent recognizes a direct link between the value of homes and student achievement, which means he will remain committed to listening to the entire community, including all students and residents, he said.

Playing three sports through high school and college taught Campbell the value of being a good team player, which influenced the collaborative style he will use to become familiar with various issues in town.

“These are tough issues or they would’ve been resolved before I got here,” he said, adding that he will take his time, listen and rely heavily on the “quality colleagues” already surrounding him.

Campbell said people have already brought perceptions regarding Cherry Hill East versus West to his attention. He expects to experience the watchful eye approach the community takes as decisions are made in the school district, and plans to make fair decisions based on necessity – even if it seems unbalanced at first.

“If people want to measure me one decision at a time, that could be misleading. I’m very comfortable being judged over time, but if I have three opportunities to help one school, I’m going to take advantage of that,” he said. “I hope people will have the patience to view my decisions over time and not come to quick judgment.”

During his career, Campbell served as teacher, administrator, president and board member in many districts and education-related professional organizations in Pennsylvania and Delaware, including the Advisory Board for the University of Pennsylvania Center for Educational Leadership and Chestnut Hill College School of Education, and the Stakeholder Advisory Board for the Laboratory for Student Success located at Temple University.

He also served as president of the Pennsylvania Council of Organizations for Education and Institute for the Arts in Education, as well as the Delaware Association of School Administrators.

This is his first position in New Jersey.

Regarding his move into a state facing a difficult budget situation, he said if the General Assembly makes decisions to provide more equitable financial treatment of all school districts that would be a welcome solution.

He said the last information he reviewed suggested that the Cherry Hill district only gets approximately 11 percent of its revenue from the state, and recognizes it’s much higher in other states. Delaware’s system shares many similarities with that of New Jersey, however, so he has a reasonably high level of comfort with his new role.

“To suggest that the issues of balancing cost consciousness and quality are easy decisions would be misleading,” he said, but residents can feel confident that he will serve as an effective financial steward.

People have to believe they are going to get a fair stake, and they will be heard, he said, adding that although he does have opinions about certain issues in his new district, he will hold off on making important decisions until he takes a full year to listen to the community.

“I’m not the kind of leader that shoots from the hip.”