Dr. Mary Todora

Superintendent of Neshannock School District in Neshannock, PA

Previous Position: Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education in North Allegheny School District

Favorite book from the past year: Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization by Yong Zhao and The Learning Leader: How to Focus School Improvements for Better Results by Douglas Reeves.

Personal hero: I have three, first my parents because they instilled two priceless values in me: my love for children, and my work ethic. My father always used to say, “do something right, or don’t do it at all.” Second my grandmother; she was five foot tall and frail but had a backbone like steel. She taught me how to be compassionate and loving towards people. Third is my aunt because she helped broaden my horizon and develop socially. She introduced me to theater, jazz, and she even took me to see Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl on stage! The combination of those three made me the person I am today.

My most memorable teaching moment: I was teaching 7th and 8th graders in Modesto, California and on Monday they came into class saying they heard a song that reminded them of me. It was Whitney Houston’s The Greatest Love of All, and on my drive home I heard it on the radio for the first time and started crying. The first stanza of that song is everything I try to be, and hearing them say it was touching.

Most exciting current trend in education: Right now is an awesome time to be in education. Digital technology helps us look at how and what we do in the classroom. It’s redefining what we teach and how we teach it.

Awesome atypical subject I wish schools could teach: I would love if every student that comes through my doors was taught coping skills. The current culture makes it so that its not right for kids to make mistakes. I also think it would be useful for students to have technical training whether its electrical, mechanical, or cosmetology. I’m a product of that, my nursing career helped me put my kids through college, and in this economy especially its important for students to have hard skills.

Shout out to my favorite teacher: Mr. Mackin was my Algebra 1 teacher in High School. He taught the subject with passion, broke the info down into steps, always made us show our work, and always put positive comments on our papers. He was a very dedicated and inspirational teacher.