David Evans has been with the Cleveland Hill district since 2003, and has held the assistant superintendent position for most of his tenure. However, when current Superintendent Jon MacSwan announced he would be retiring at the conclusion of the current school year, Evans knew he could not pass up the opportunity to apply for his “dream position”
“This is a position that is my dream position. Working right alongside with Mr. MacSwan, I've been very blessed in my career to have administrators that had very firm belief in me. Over the past couple of years Mr. MacSwan has really involved me in almost every aspect of the superintendency, really showing me under the hood of how decisions are made, what decisions are made, how they affect the greater organization. Nothing happens in a vacuum."
The Board of Education picked Evans out of a pool of 20 candidates.
Evans made a commitment to the board and to staff members that no major changes will occur next school year. However, a new mandate from the state banning cellphones and other smart devices during the school day is a challenge Evans is anticipating to face.
“Yeah, I would say that first, immediate, biggest challenge we're going to have is the cell phone ban that I think is very misunderstood. I think parents and communities across the state are attributing that to the schools. That's being pushed down from the governor's office, and that's law. So that is something we're going to have to work again with our parents and students on. What does that look like at Cleveland hill?"
Evans also mentioned the anticipated challenges of preparing the district to handle New York Inspires, a multi-year plan from the state education department that will drastically change the way students can acquire a high school diploma. Most notably, eliminating the requirement of passing regents exams in order to graduate.
“It's a complete paradigm shift of what we're used to with having classes that end in regents exams. [Typically] you're accruing credits, you get a certain amount of credits, and then you you graduate. New York State is really turning that on its head in looking at experiences through high school not ending in regents exams, looking at more of a proficiency based, [and] having students more prepared for the real, real world. It'll be more work based experiences. You'll be earning a seal rather than passing a Regents exam, and that just means the student's are going to have to demonstrate their proficiency in multiple ways, rather than just on a test."
Away from school, Evans is a soccer coach, coaching both of his sons’ teams, who are 13 and 10 years old.
Evans is set to officially take over leading the district on July 1.
