The following Community Letter by Interim Superintendent Dennis Recker was posted on the Ada Schools website on August 1.

Dear Ada School Community,

Thank you for selecting me to serve as interim superintendent for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. To have had your board of education allow me to serve as the lead administrator of a district that "aspire(s) to excel in all areas of the school experience" aligns with my personal/professional belief of what a school can provide its students, staff, and community when it fulfills its obligation to provide the needed resources to provide the best education possible for their youngsters. In turn, Ada's staff will fulfill its obligation of providing the highest levels of instruction, caring, and mentoring of the students entrusted to us as administrators, teachers, coaches, advisors, and classified support personnel.

Some personal information that might give you a sense of who I am, is this. I was a first generation "farm kid" who became a classroom teacher and guidance counselor 14 years, followed by eight years' service as curriculum coordinator/staff development director for the Putnam County Schools. This was followed by nearly 20 years of service as Liberty-Benton superintendent. I then mentored and supervised student teachers for BGSU for a year, and then assumed the role as Upper Scioto Valley superintendent, serving them for five years. 13 years were spent coaching basketball at the middle, high school, and collegiate levels. These experiences have reinforced the belief that extra-curricular success follows the academic success of students. Ada has a solid history of academic excellence, and provides great opportunities beyond the classroom for its students.

Looking ahead, I sense that Ada students, staff, and community will have a phenomenal year in terms of overall achievement. As a dad of eight children and 24 grandchildren, never more has public education been more important in the lives of children, and the welfare of our state and nation.

Thanks again for placing me in a position of trust for your children.

Dennis L. Recker