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09/02/2006New superintendent ready to challenge children
Cheryl Wojtas is the new supertinendent for Gaylord schools. GAYLORD — Cheryl Wojtas is ready to launch her "whatever it takes" approach to education. That chance will come Tuesday morning when about 3,400 students will arrive at Gaylord schools for their first day of classes under a new superintendent in her first top administrator job. "Our most important products are those little cherubs who one day walk across a stage for a diploma at the end of 12th grade," Wojtas said. Education is the most rewarding profession, she said, a lesson she learned after 22 years at a much larger, downstate school district in Port Huron. The last eight years were spent in administrative roles, but Wojtas started as a high school literature and French teacher. That's when the joy of students learning something new took hold of her, she said. "The 'ah-ha' moment of a kid figuring out an extended metaphor is great," Wojtas said. That hunger for knowledge and understanding, and the desire to impress that on others, is what she will bring to her new job in Gaylord, she said. "We should strive for more rigorous programs for all children, so they are intellectually challenged every day," Wojtas said, adding that includes strong programs across the board, from alternative and special education to honors programs. Wojtas and her husband, Mark, made a longtime area vacation home their permanent residence and moved "up north" about a month ago. School board member Scott Chesley said he is excited not only about Wojtas' educational strengths, but her grasp of athletic programs. The district has 200 teachers in six schools, plus another 200 support staff employees. The new academic year has a $29 million budget after last year closing the Elmira Montessori School for cost savings. Wojtas' three-year contract will bring her an annual salary of $105,000, with cost-of-living increases the next two years, Chesley said.
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