A message from Pioneer Interim Superintendent Dennis Ford:
There are times when an announcement to stakeholders can be both happy and sad at the same time. The happy news is Tiffany Giannicchi has accepted the position of Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in the Salamanca City Central School District.
I am sure those in the Pioneer school community who know Tiffany are not surprised she has earned the next step in her excellent career. I remember Pioneer officials told me when they first contacted me in June to gauge my interest in serving Pioneer as an Interim Superintendent that we would probably be losing Tiffany shortly to career advancement. I know the Board of Education and many others join me in wishing Tiffany nothing but good health and good luck as she moves on to new challenges at the end of September. She will also be communicating her departure to Delevan parents and staff.
But there is sad news as we face opening a building without our long-time principal. The first step will be placing an Interim Principal at Delevan Elementary School. I know, I can hear it now. Many of you probably feel we are becoming overwhelmed by interim administrators - Interim Superintendent; Interim High School Principal; and now Interim Elementary Principal. Trust me, I also feel the same stress.
However, in an effort to meet uncertainty with some steadiness and familiarity, I have been able to enlist the help of a long-time Pioneer employee, Kevin Munro, who has agreed to serve as the Interim Principal at Delevan.
Kevin is well known in the school community. He began as a teacher in Pioneer and then served almost 20 years as a Special Education administrator and elementary principal in the district. Staff in the district speak very highly of him, and a few parents who I have spoken to with current or past district roots are very pleased he has agreed to again serve the district.
The Board of Education will vote on my recommendation at its September 6 meeting. I have already had staff and parents reach out to me in an effort to offer their help to the district as we seek to find Tiffany's replacement. In the coming weeks we will communicate the process that will be used to replace her. Meanwhile, I encourage you to share your "good-byes" with Tiffany, who will depart on September 25, and, hopefully, to extend your "welcome back" greetings to Kevin, who will begin on September 26.
Yes ... we have so much work to do at Pioneer.