Craft excited to lead Buckeye Valley

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Paul Craft has returned to education and will lead the Buckeye Valley Local School District into the 2022-2023 school year as its superintendent.

Craft joins the district after serving as the CEO of Meta Solutions for three years and serving as the superintendent of Delaware City Schools for nine years before that. Craft said he’s excited by the opportunity to step back into education.

“I’ve enjoyed my three years as CEO at Meta, it was great being able to give back at a level above district level because we were supporting 140 ohio school districts with their data and connectivity and those things,” Craft said. “I got to see a lot more of the state and what was going on with education. I enjoyed that but I missed the energy of being around students and teachers and staff.”

Craft said when he saw the posting for the superintendent position, he jumped at the chance to lead Buckeye Valley.

“When this opportunity came up, we did a lot of thinking and praying about it and decided to throw my hat in the ring,” he said. “I really appreciate the board giving me the opportunity to be part of this team. This district is just well situated for success. We have great families and solid financial resources.”

Craft said he moved his family into the Buckeye Valley school district a couple of years ago and said when the school year starts, he will have a child at the elementary level, a child at the middle school and a child at the high school.

“We’re fully vested,” Craft said.

Looking to the upcoming school year, Craft said he hopes it will be “the most normal” year the district has had since the pandemic and said the district will be focused on raising “behavioral and academic expectations” for every student and will try to make up for lost learning.

“I think the potential for this district to do good things for our kids is unlimited,” Craft said. “It’s (about) maximizing growth for every kid. Every kid sits at a slightly different point … We’ve got to make sure we are challenging and adjusting and challenging again every kid from where they are to growing the maximum that they can.

Craft said one of his goals as an educator is to make sure that every kid gets their needs met.

“It’s just almost a mindset and an ethos of we’re going to make sure every kid gets what they need to succeed,” Craft said. “I mean that from the kid with the most academic challenges up to the kid that’s already achieving at a very high level. We’ve got to move all those kids forward.”

Craft said he is excited to work with the staff at Buckeye Valley, including former Superintendent Dr. Andy Miller, who stepped out of the role last year but will remain at the district.

“Andy Miller is a good friend, and I’m excited to get the chance to work with him,” Craft said. “He’ll continue to provide important work for the district. He’s left a good team in place. I think it’ll be a smooth transition from that perspective.”

Looking ahead, Craft said one of the main issues the district will face is growth.

“It’s a pretty unique problem to have in the state of Ohio,” Craft said. “We’re used to it in Delaware County but most of the state is dealing with declining enrollment. That’s something I had experience with during my time in Delaware so hopefully that experience pays dividends as I move into this role. We know the growth in Delaware County is headed in our direction, so we need to make sure we have our plans in place for dealing with that.”

Craft formally joined the district on Aug. 1 and said he’s looking forward to the school year.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be joining the Buckeye Valley team,” Craft said.

Craft
https://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2022/08/web1_craft-headshot.jpgCraft

By Glenn Battishill

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Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.

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