My name is Diane Place and it is my privilege to serve as the Superintendent of the Towanda Area School District. I am a native of Towanda and a 1973 graduate of the high school. I assumed the position of Superintendent on September 1, 2006, after having served as the elementary principal for nine years and a secondary Spanish teacher in years prior.

The 2006-2007 school year is the first year that the District has operated the three buildings in the consolidated campus setting. The school resources are all readily at hand to serve the educational needs of our students. We are now able to equalize class sizes in the elementary grades K4 to grade 6. Grades 7-12 attend school at the high school building. The 7^th and 8^th grades are in separate wings which comprise a “school within a school” to assure that our junior high school students do not interact with the older students on a regular basis until they reach 9^th grade.

Public education has changed in the past few years. All of our goals must be directed in the area of meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the areas of reading and math as defined by No Child Left Behind. The standards are rigorous and most of our instructional efforts are directed in the areas of reading, language arts, math and writing in order to prepare for the annual Pennsylvania State System of Assessment (PSSA) test. I am committed to focusing our efforts as a District on being a data-driven district at all levels. We are implementing systems to collect and assess student data which will then drive our instruction. The instruction must be standards-aligned and utilize research-based instructional strategies.

Please visit our website to stay informed about current district activities and information.

If I can be of assistance to you, feel free to call me at 265-9894.

Sincerely,

Diane M. Place

Superintendent