District Superintendent Talks Past, Present and Future

Superintendent Nina Zetty will complete her third year as district superintendent in August, following a one-year term as assistant superintendent.

Zetty earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in secondary education and computer science at California University of Pennsylvania, and holds a doctorate from West Virginia University. She completed her superintendent’s studies at Duquesne University.

Prior to arriving in Peters Township, she was a teacher in the Jefferson Morgan School District in Greene County, then became principal of Keystone Oaks High School. She later became principal of Bentworth High School, and was appointed as assistant to the superintendent for the Bentworth School District soon after.

When appointed as Peters Township School District superintendent, Zetty set goals to maintain Peters as one of the highest-performing districts in the state, and to improve the lines of communication between the district and the community.

We sat down with Zetty, in the first of a series of interviews. Our combined mission is to keep the community informed of progress and issues in the district.

Patch: One of the most surprising things I have learned from you is that you never really planned to enter the field of education.

Zetty: As a child, I never lined up the baby dolls and pretended to be teaching them. Actually, business was my goal and where I began my career. As a young mother, I was going to work, coming home to take care of my children and balancing a career. My neighbor said to me one day that I should consider going into education, where my schedule would match those of my children.

I went back to school for mathematics, became a math teacher, and discovered that’s where I should have been all along. I never thought I would be a superintendent of schools, but sometimes you start down one road and before you know it there’s a detour, and you find out that’s where you were supposed to be going in the first place.

Patch: You set out to achieve a number of goals when you became superintendent three years ago. How far along are you in getting them achieved?

Zetty: Most of the vision statements we put forth are long-range, and you can’t really do much in one year, two years or even three years. However, many things have been accomplished along the way. Our long-range vision has to do with looking at facilities within the district and determining if we are prepared for 21st century teaching, facility-wise and safety wise.

We want to be sure students are prepared for lifelong learning, and at the same time we look at the budget long-range and at growth in the district. The past three years have been a lot of data gathering and planning, while working toward our long-range vision of having our students prepared for 21st century learning and beyond.

Patch: What’s the most rewarding thing you find about education?

Zetty: It’s a little bit tougher in this position than in the classroom because in the classroom you had that immediate feedback from your kids. I know those things are still happenings of the result of decisions I make, but I don’t see them and feel them as frequently as before. I think the most rewarding thing now is to attend things like a recent education committee of the board, when those initiatives I’ve worked collaboratively on with our staff come together, and to see our staff producing and excited about the goals we’ve set.

Patch: When you look at the numbers on the high school honor roll, and the number of student achievers you are seeing through the elementary and middle schools accomplishing great things, you must certainly be proud.

Zetty: Oh I am. Down to the individual child. At the education committee meeting there were smart tables, where two small children were doing the demonstration. Just being able to sit down with them and hear their interaction, and to see them so excited about learning was amazing.

Whenever possible I try to get into the classroom, attend athletic events for students who excel in that area and artistic endeavors our students do. I know I’m not the teacher who worked with them, but I know I’ve been a part of it.

Patch: One of your original goals as superintendent was to improve lines of communication with parents and the community.

Zetty: That will be a goal forever. We’ve added different venues of communication with Global Connect, email blasts, newsletters, meetings with administrators and PTAs together, but we’re continuing to look for better ways to communicate. 

Patch: What do you think people in general still need to understand about the Peters Township School District?

Zetty: We’ve been focusing on Steven Covey’s "Seven Principles of Highly Effective Educators," and one of those habits I, ‘Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.’ Many times individuals draw conclusions based upon not enough understanding. I think that the community needs to know that our doors are open for questioning and for information. If one hears something that doesn’t sit well or doesn’t make sense, they need to give us a call and we’ll sit down and share that information.