Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MILFORD - Mark Stock has been named superintendent of the Wawasee Community School Corp. after a four-month search to fill the position.
Stock was named interim superintendent in September after Henry Smith's resignation in August. He joined Wawasee schools in 1995 as director of technology and instruction.
Board president Carol Swartzendruber said the board asked for input from Wawasee staff and community members to determine what they wanted in a superintendent. Selection criteria included a focus on academics, a team leader who would work with staff toward a common goal, and someone willing to stay with the corporation.
Although Stock has been with the corporation for some time, the board put a lot of effort into its search. "Stock was not a shoe-in from the get-go," said board member Jeffrey Wells. "We really looked hard to get the best person we could find."
The board received 31 applications for the job and narrowed the field to six candidates for the interview process before Stock was chosen.
Stock said he will work to make Wawasee the best school corporation it can be. "Improving a school is hard work ... but there are some things we believe we can do," he said. "Our goal will be to provide quality, whatever the program is."
Stock came to Wawasee from Whitko Community Schools, where he served as an elementary principal for four years before becoming director of curriculum and instruction. He began teaching in 1979 in Northmont City Schools, Union, Ohio, and joined the Warsaw Community School Corp. in 1984. He remained with Warsaw until 1988, when he went to Whitko.
He holds a bachelor of science in elementary education from Wright State University, Fairborn, Ohio, where he graduated in 1979. He obtained a master of science in education from Wright State in 1985, and earned his education specialist with a major in educational leadership/superintendency in 1995.
The corporation will officially welcome Stock and his family in a reception Jan. 31 in the high school commons. The reception will begin an hour before the junior varsity basketball game that evening.
