Dr. Merkle recently became the superintendent of York Suburban High School.
Shelly Merkle has worked for York Suburban School District for 24 years and just recently became the superintendent of the district. Even her own children have attended Suburban for many years. Merkle said, “It is very exciting to serve as the superintendent of York Suburban. It is a chance for me to serve the staff and community that I have grown to love. This is my chance to give back.”
She also said that every day is different for her and it becomes difficult at some points, but she loves her job anyway. She learns new things every day and has the great opportunity to interact with talented teachers and students. However, the difficult part comes in with the budget. Merkle said, “Teachers are asked to do more with less and students begin to feel the effects of that over time.” Education for the public is underfunded and sometimes, she is forced to make decisions she would prefer not to make.
Merkle is the chief executive officer of the district, meaning that she is responsible for planning and foreseeing organizations. Her field of expertise range from developing and managing a budget to making snow calls.
As always, there are pros and cons to having a successful job. However, she said there are more pros than there are cons. Some pros to being superintendent include working with a fantastic administrative team, working with students who are eager to learn, and being a part of a community with a very educated mind. On the negative side, funding is difficult and over-emphasis by the state is on student assessment.
While Merkle’s job takes up a lot of her time, she always tries to make time for her own children. Merkle said, “While I enjoy seeing all of the evening activities around the district, it is difficult to miss my own children’s activities. A typical week includes two or three evening meetings on top of a full day at work. Last night I had an evening meeting, so I had to miss my son’s baseball game.” Being a superintendent of a district can be stressful and time consuming, but Dr. Merkle balances her job while still enjoying free time.