BUCYRUS — One Bucyrus City Schools administrator recently was approved to be the new leader of another local school, and he won’t have to change the color scheme of much of his wardrobe in the process.
Bucyrus Secondary School Principal Dr. Mark Burke recently accepted the position as and was approved to be the new superintendent of Mohawk Local Schools beginning in the 2019-20 school year.
Burke said the type of school Mohawk is drew him to the district.
“It’s a school that reminds me a lot of the school I went to, a small rural school,” Burke, who attended Lynchburg-Clay High School in Highland County. “The rural aspect of the community and the programs they have at Mohawk just really felt to me like home. I know some people over there and they spoke very highly of the school and it seemed like a great opportunity.”
Burke said he already had a positive experience with the district getting to explore the district through the hiring process and seeing the school’s academic performance, staffing, facilities and more.
Burke said, though, that he already knew some details about the school with Bucyrus being in the same athletic conference as the Warriors. He said the school is just approximately 20 minutes from Bucyrus.
“That was appealing to me, how close it was,” Burke said. “Other aspects like I’ve said before made it more appealing than it just being close, but I’ve had interactions with their administrators and athletic director and they’re in the league, so we’ve seen them as opponents and at N10 meetings, so I knew quite a bit about them and what they stand for.”
Burke said the move to superintendent is the next logical step for someone with his experience. He has worked all 18 years of his career at Bucyrus City Schools in the roles as teacher, dean of students, assistant principal, director of student services, and principal.
Burke said the only step between principal and superintendent would be to go back to another central office position such as director of student services or curriculum director, or to go to a larger district that has assistant superintendent positions.
While serving in various positions during Bucyrus Superintendent Kevin Kimmel’s tenure as superintendent, Burke said he learned a great deal he will be able to use in his new role.
“During Mr. Kimmel’s first two years as superintendent, I was director of student services, so I was special education director, preschool director, federal programming and grants,” Burke said. “That’s something I’ll be taking with me. In speaking with the folks at Mohawk, those are a lot of things the superintendent does a lot of work with.”
He said he also learned a lot from Kimmel’s administrative personnel skills as well such as how to conduct business and be a professional, be an active listener and care about the students.
“He’s been a big mentor to me, not only in the opportunities job-wise he’s given me, but just his mentorship and leadership over the last 10-12 years has been some of the best training I could have.”
Kimmel was approved as the next superintendent of the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center on Feb. 13 and will begin his new position after the current school year, but Burke said he was already in the process of being committed to the Mohawk hiring process.
“My pursuits toward Mohawk were already in motion before the Bucyrus job opened, so I was, and still am, committed to a district that I was excited opened up,” Burke said.
Burke said he was in the second round of interviews when Kimmel was approved for his position with Mid-Ohio ESC, and Burke said he told Mohawk officials he was fully committed to Mohawk should he be offered the position.
“It felt good and felt right and felt like the best move for me in my leadership journey,” Burke said.
Despite leaving for his new position this summer, Burke will still be around the Redmen community. He will continue to live in the district and his two sons will continue to attend Bucyrus.
He said he hopes the Bucyrus community continues to do things like “The Redmen Way” and Leader in Me.
“I’ve been so proud to be a Redmen all these years. We are doing great things here,” Burke said. “And even when I join the Warrior family, I’ll be excited to see those great things continue here. The district has done great work with great kids and I wish them nothing but the best.”