Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education Appoints New President

With a unanimous vote on Monday night, Kellie Patterson was appointed president of the Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education.

Patterson, who has served on the board for five years, replaced Dave Rump in the leadership role. 

Board member Barb Gunter was appointed vice president. 

Patterson and Gunter will each serve one-year terms. 

Following the vote, Patterson offered this statement to the public:

I want to thank my colleagues for their vote of confidence. There are many that would have thrown the towel in long ago. The fact that we still sit here together, despite the trials and tribulations we’ve faced, speaks volumes on the character of the people that I serve with.  Our differences do not divide us. Our differences seem to be the driving force behind our determination to give the children and young adults of Cuyahoga Falls a foundation for success.  The board is comprised of strong-willed and dedicated individuals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets that benefit the group as a whole in carrying out the districts mission- “To assure [that] each student is equipped with the skills necessary to meet the challenges of the future.”

The coming year is bringing epic changes to the way schools conduct business. The challenges we face are many, but, to steal a line from David Binkley- “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” And we’ve had a lot of bricks thrown at us this past year. OTES, OPES, Common Core, online testing, complete overhaul of the report card system... You get it.

But I will go one further, I believe we’ve already laid that firm foundation. From here we have to build on the partnerships we’ve formed with businesses and secondary educators so that all children graduating from Cuyahoga Falls are on a clear road to success through our college and career ready programs. Dual enrollment, post-secondary options, and our career vo-tech programs are opening the doors for an ever broadening base of students . Fostering the idea that learning is a lifelong journey; that’s the best foundation we can give our children.

We’ve made great strides toward updating our methods and ideologies. Now we need to focus on the needs of the 21st century child, entering a 21st century workforce. Providing early opportunities for advancement will continue to be our focus and I’m confident we are heading in the right direction with the right people.