Local Perspective: Lessons in overcoming obstacles will help build the future

I want to take a moment to welcome the Quaker Community to this monthly column. As your new Superintendent, I promise to operate with integrity, transparency, and respect.

It was with great excitement that I accepted this position and I will utilize my passion for the New Philadelphia community to lead by example and strive for the excellence that I know you demand.

I wanted to start this first column by telling a short story that will tell you a little bit about who I am as a person and as an educator. The story is about a man who grew up in an Old-Order Amish family in eastern Pennsylvania during the Great Depression. His parents named him Henry. His friends called him Hank. I simply called him Dad. When Dad started school, he spoke no English and had no previous experience with text. He was completely illiterate. His mother copied his name onto a card that she taped onto his desk so he could write it on his papers.

Despite the lack of preschool, Dad soon discovered that he loved to learn and he soon overcame his initial challenges. Life continued to present obstacles though, for Dad. His family was so poverty-stricken that he was sent to work for a neighbor as a teenager, so he could earn an income to send back to his parents to help support his younger siblings. He did this for three years without complaining.

When he was 20 years old, Dad left the Amish church and enlisted in the Air Force with the dreams of becoming a pilot. However, with only a formal 8th grade education, he did not have enough content knowledge to pass the competency exams to become a pilot. So, instead, he studied during the evenings when his military duties were complete and earned his GED instead. He was not going to let adversity stop him from moving forward.

After his time with the military ended, Dad and Mom moved back to Tuscarawas County Ohio and bought a dairy farm. Before long, though, he had to sell the cows because he had developed a respiratory condition that was aggravated by cows. But, instead of becoming depressed, Dad once again embraced the challenge that he was facing. He decided to enroll in college at the age of 37.

He went on to complete both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, and when he had completed those degrees he taught school until he retired. Dad did not believe that obstacles should cause one to give up. Instead, overcoming those obstacles often leads to a new adventure with even better opportunities.

Why do I tell you this story? My father’s attitude toward challenges not only shaped who I am, but it also provides a great lesson for us all in these times of challenge. I know that we are certainly faced with some challenges again this year. Education can be challenging at any time, and in a COVID era with illness and quarantines, the challenges are exacerbated.

The outstanding staff at NPCS works tirelessly to ensure that students are continuing to learn and have opportunities outside the classroom to grow and develop. We are ready to embrace any challenges that arise. New Philadelphia City Schools has turned the page and is off to a fresh start this school year. We have many new and exciting changes to our Quaker family that I cannot wait to share with you.

There is a lot of positive energy and excitement building from Front Street to Stone Creek. Will there be obstacles? Sure. Will we overcome those obstacles and make this new chapter of New Philadelphia City Schools a bright one? Yes. Because just like dad, I’m ready for the adventure and cannot wait to go in it with all of you.

Amy Wentworth is the Superintendent of New Philadelphia City Schools.