Getting to Know Dr. William O. George

Dr. William George thinks he has the medicine to cure the ills of what has been dubbed a wounded school district — communication.

The new superintendent of 17 public schools has officially been at his top administrator desk and making the school rounds since his Dec. 1 start date. Yet, he’s been a familiar face for a bit longer.

As George sat on the dais for his first meeting last night, Board President Joan Minnuies gave the former Hazlet superintendent an official welcome while reminding the audience that “he has really been out there in the community for the last month, and we appreciate that.”

Citing that he is “very impressed with the school community” and the outstanding work toward effective communications done between parents, students and faculty, George said he is looking forward to fostering an improved collaborative support network for the students.

He started doing that by hosting his signature series of parent “coffees” early in the month and said he hopes “that will be just the beginning of expanded communications …

“I’m excited about those opportunities … I had the opportunity to meet with (various) parent groups and am very excited to be at the table with them and see that commitment and support. I look forward to working more closely with them.”

George also briefed the audience on meetings he had with township Mayor Tony Fiore and Police Chief Robert Oches, who gave him a glimpse into their work that feeds into the schools’ functioning, such as shared service ideas with municipal government and emergency management plans with police.

He added that he intends to maintain high visibility and an open door policy in the district.

After seeing Middletown schools scrutinized for hosting a revolving door of administrators and harboring some not-so-sweet surprises, getting the word out the public about what’s going on in the district is a priority of George’s.

In keeping with that initiative, he said that, in addition to getting in the habit of funneling out press releases on a regular basis to media outlets, he will be re-kindling the district television station’s “Your Town, Your Schools” series.

“I will be at tomorrow filming a segment, which will air and be screened at the end of December,” George said. “The (series will highlight) outstanding things happening in our schools and across the community.”

If you have a question or need an explanation, he encouraged, don’t hesitate to ask.

In the meantime, there is one more “coffee” scheduled for Jan. 5 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Central Administrative Office of , which George encourages people to attend.