American Association of School Administrators (AASA) members elected Amy Sichel as the organization’s president-elect for the 2012-2013 school year.
Sichel is the superintendent of the Abington School District, which serves a suburban township of the same name north of Philadelphia. She is also a member of the AASA Governing Board. She will begin her term on July 1.
“Amy has held important leadership roles in public education both in Pennsylvania and at the national level,” said current AASA President Pat Neudecker, superintendent of Oconomowoc Area School District in Wisconsin. “She has been a clear voice for education in the public debate. We welcome her in this new role.”
Sichel 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 currently 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.”
AASA Past President Gooden has worked closely with Mike Simmons, president of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, to address current challenges facing the student transportation industry, such as escalating fuel costs and the debate over seat belts on school buses.
