The new superintendent of Valparaiso Community Schools is Andrew Melin. Melin will replace long-time superintendent Michael Benway starting July 1.
"A big reason why Valparaiso was a great fit was because of the quality of the community, and the ability to raise our family here" noted Melin when he was introduced today, "and I am very fortunate to come and be the superintendent here"
Melin comes to Valparaiso from Peru, Indiana, where he held the superintendent position for Peru Community Schools. "Peru Community Schools' vision is to be the "leader in educational excellence." In everything we do, we strive to be the best. This vision leads to our mission, which is to "expect 100 percent from all." If all of our students, parents and employees expect 100 percent from themselves and everybody in which they come in contact, there is no doubt Peru Community Schools will become 'the leader in educational excellence.'" Andrew hopes to bring the same vision to the Valparaiso Community Schools. He and his wife have 3 children who will be going into 7th, 5th, and 2nd grade this fall in the Valparaiso Community School system.
"I would tell you that as great as this school system is, it will be my job to take this to another level. We not only need to have our students compete against other students in this region, but we have to be able to have our students compete against other students all over the world."
A few things stand out about Andrew at a first meeting. He is clearly bright, energetic, driven, and aware that answering the challenges of building upon Valparaiso's great educational history, will not always be easy. He has dealt with a variety of educational environments, as well as financial and academic challenges, and he understands the delicate balance between collaboration and leadership.
"The school board took great care with a lot of input from the community and from the educators and made an excellent choice," Mayor Costas told ValpoLife, "The new administration means a new opportunity to work together and time to meet the needs of this community and capitalize on our strengths. We will be meeting with him and his team in the coming days to start working together."
Peru Community Schools graduated 83.9% of their students in 2009, higher than the state average of 81.5% and close to Valparaiso Community Schools at 91.6%. Enrollment for 2008-09 was 2,323, for Valparaiso 6,416, with an attendance rate for Peru at 96.3%, Valpo at 97.2%.
Click here for a video about the values of Peru Community Schools.
To view more statistics from Peru Community Schools, click here. To view the school system's strategic plan, click here.