Pioneer proud: Jackson to retire as West Greene superintendent
As a business major at Waynesburg University, Brian Jackson was looking for alternatives. One of his professors asked him if he was a football player. He was.
“He said, ‘Well, you should get into education,'” Jackson said.
Jackson followed that advice. And it led him into an educational career that has lasted for 43 years, including the last nine as superintendent of West Greene School District.
Now Jackson is bringing that career to a close. On Thursday, the West Greene Board of Education accepted with regret Jackson’s retirement, effective June 30.
The superintendent job had brought Jackson’s career full circle, back to the district where he began as a social studies teacher at West Greene fresh out of college in 1982. He eventually was promoted to high school principal.
Jackson’s work didn’t end when the bell rang. He’s coached football, wrestling and track, and also served as chaperone for many clubs and activities.
After 13 years at the California Area School District in Washington County, Jackson returned to West Greene to become superintendent. Though he’d made a lot of good friends there, he said the hour-long commute every day was giving him too little time to spend with his kids.
“Leaving California was a tough choice, but when you’re only four miles down the road, it makes a big difference,” he said.
Jackson’s seen many changes in education over the past 40 years. Some of those are changes passed from state or federal governments. Others happen organically, as educators try new techniques to get students to learn.
Instead of lectures, teachers are more apt to try “blending” strategies, where they incorporate technology and group work.
“Students learn differently, and so you want to try to touch on all the areas, where every kid has the same opportunity to learn,” he said.
Looking back over the past nine years, Jackson is proud of what he’s been able to accomplish working with the board.
In addition to remodeled office space, the science and math wing has been upgraded. So have almost all the athletic facilities. The remaining exceptions, softball and baseball, are in the works.
The district also overhauled its curriculum, boosting its vocational agriculture program. One of its teachers, Karlie Wright, was recently named a semifinalist in the state’s Teacher of the Year contest.
“We have two instructors there, and that program was growing, so we made the facility to match the curriculum in the offering we have for our kids,” he said.
In his career, he’s enjoyed being able to watch kids excel and become productive members of the community. He gets to see and hear from many of the people whose lives he’s shaped.
“Now I’m seeing some of their kids, some of their grandkids,” he said.
He’ll miss being accessible to the students, and the camaraderie he had with the faculty and staff. But after 43 years in education, it is time to move on, Jackson said.
“It’s a tough decision, but I’m comfortable with what we have going here,” he said. “Hopefully it’ll continue.”