The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) announced that Benny Gooden, superintendent of the Fort Smith (Ark.) Public Schools, and Amy F. Sichel, superintendent of the Abington (Pa.) School District, were appointed July 19 as president and president-elect, respectively, for 2012–2013.
They were officially sworn in during an installation ceremony and reception held in conjunction with AASA’s summer governance meetings in Washington, D.C.
Gooden has 37 years of experience as a school superintendent, with 26 of those years at Fort Smith and the rest in rural Missouri. A visiting assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, he has served on various statewide commissions and task forces, including a stint as president of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators in 2007–2008. Gooden is currently a member of the AASA Executive Committee and previously served on its Governing Board. He is well known in AASA as the director of the Singing Superintendents.
“Benny has been one of the stalwarts of AASA throughout his career,” said AASA Executive Director Daniel A. Domenech. “His work on behalf of superintendents everywhere has been tireless. We look forward to his leadership in this new role.”
“Our communities are having very important and challenging conversations about public education these days,” said Gooden. “I believe that AASA has a key role to play in those conversations … I am excited to have a part in shaping the future for all students across the nation.”
This spring Gooden spoke with School Transportation News about the recent, and beneficial, collaboration between AASA and the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation (NASDPTS). He and NASDPTS President Mike Simmons, who is also a member of AASA, found that much could be gained by working together on common issues such as budgets, fuel costs and federal and state regulations.
“Its just like everything else: You have to find a good, common ground,” said Gooden. “We are not Congress. We understand how to compromise, and we plan to stay that way. I think one thing you’ll find superintendents have in common is they want to provide the best education and best transportation for students at the lowest cost.”
Like Gooden, Sichel is also a member of the AASA Governing Board. She was named Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year in 2010 and has been a member of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators for the past 11 years, the same span she has served as Abington’s superintendent. From 1981 to 2001, she was an adjunct associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Sichel is also an adjunct instructor at Delaware Valley College.
“As AASA president, I will be a strong advocate for superintendents and school administrators and for high-quality public schools,” said Sichel. “We need to support reforms that improve educational opportunities for all students, promote innovative accountability systems and advocate for the reauthorization of ESEA.”
