Meet ASCD President Paul Healey
Willona Sloan
Paul Healey’s journey as an educator began when he was a teenager volunteering with children with special needs. “This experience solidified my desire to become a teacher,” says Healey, who now has more than 33 years of experience in education.
A Dedicated Educator
In his first professional teaching position, Healey taught 3rd grade; but, he admits, as a new teacher there was much he had to learn. Looking back, he says, he wished that he had understood the “impact that one individual can have on a group of students.” Healey learned an early lesson about what it means to take a whole child approach to supporting students. “[Children] really want and crave adults who care about them and show an interest in them as individuals,” he says.
For Healey, making the leap from the classroom to the principal’s office was a difficult decision. He became principal of Shiremanstown Elementary School in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and later assistant elementary principal at Susquenita Elementary School in Duncannon, Pa.
“I loved being an elementary teacher, and I knew the move to administration would change the amount of daily contact I had with a class. However, I was interested in being an educational leader who could work with a team of dedicated individuals in promoting positive learning opportunities for all children across our school and district,” Healey says.
In 2006, he became assistant superintendent of Bermudian Springs School District in York Springs, Pa. In 2008, he became the superintendent. Bermudian Springs School District is a rural district, about 10 miles north of Gettysburg. Approximately 2,100 students are educated in three buildings all on the same campus. Healey has led many initiatives in the district, including using data to drive instruction, implementing formative assessments, and integrating technology into the classrooms.
Healey takes to heart the tenets of ASCD’s whole child approach by staying active, giving back to his community, and challenging himself to keep learning. An avid cyclist, he rides about 2,500 miles from spring to fall. He’s also a certified EMT, and he volunteers once a week in an Emergency Room at the local hospital.
An Active Leader
Healey is a longtime ASCD member and has been active in leadership roles within the association. Through his work on the Leadership Council, which he joined seven years ago, Healey has collaborated with educators from across the globe and gained a new perspective about the challenges that educators face in creating success for their students.
Healey has chaired a Leadership Council ad hoc committee on restructuring, chaired the Legislative Committee and the Annual Conference Committee for 2012, and served on the selection committee for the 2011 Whole Child Vision in Action Award winner. He also has been active with his local affiliate, Pennsylvania ASCD, where he served as a member of the board of directors as the supervision committee chair, and as president-elect, president, past-president, and conference chair.
Now, Healey looks forward to a productive year as ASCD President. And, he notes, there’s a lot of important work to accomplish. “A challenge facing all educators around the world is ensuring that each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.”
Education must be a top priority in every community, Healey says. “ASCD is doing a wonderful job of getting our message out, but it is up to all of us, as members, to continue this dialogue on our local fronts,” says Healey.
Healey plans to move forward ASCD’s goals and objectives. “My plan is to work collaboratively with the Board of Directors, Leadership Council, the ASCD staff and our members as we chart a new course over the next several years. We are presently working on a new Strategic Plan that will be our roadmap for the future as we continue to provide quality programs, products, and services around the world. We will continue to be the educators’ choice for resources that help them to learn, teach, and lead,” says Healey.