Get to know State College Area’s new superintendent and what he plans to bring to the district

Curtis Johnson has spent most of his career at State College Area School District. In his 19 years with the district, he’s served as a principal and an assistant superintendent. Ten months ago, he stepped up as the head of the administration as its interim superintendent.

Now he’s signed on for five more years as the district’s new superintendent.

Johnson was unanimously approved to a round of applause during the district’s board meeting Monday night.

“I’m honored to have been selected and profoundly grateful to the board for having confidence in me to fulfill this role after 10 months of serving as interim superintendent,” Johnson said in a Tuesday press conference.

Johnson, a 1991 Penn State graduate, came to the district from Reading School District in 2003. Although he had initially been looking for positions in the Philadelphia area, he took a chance on State College.

“I just never left — it was the community, the administrators, the support, the teachers, the students — I fell in love with them all,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s goals as superintendent include raising graduation rates and implementing new elementary reading programs and virtual schooling programs to help students. Johnson said virtual programs could be a part of raising graduation rates by allowing students to repeat years without stigma.

“Virtual is not the key to learning but it’s a great supplement to get students across the threshold and provide them with a different mechanism for learning,” Johnson said.

Johnson hopes to continue increasing administrator transparency and visibility among students and the community. He said it’s key for a superintendent to visit schools and listen to stakeholders in the community. As interim superintendent, Johnson consolidated the board’s committee meetings into one of the board’s monthly meetings, freeing up time for administrators to be available in schools around the district.

Johnson is the first African American superintendent in the district and sees himself as breaking down stereotypes as a Black man. Although he recognizes his place as a role model for students, he thanked his current and former students for making the position a possibility.

“It’s because of their successes and what they have spoken about me to the parents and the community out there that lands me in this position,” Johnson said.

Although Johnson talked about the support he received from staff, students and administrators, board President Jackie Huff said his dedication to helping faculty and staff was part of what made him the best choice for the position.

“He himself has created a lot of support structures, not just for students, but also for teachers and administrators to grow professionally,” Huff said.

Outside of his new duties as superintendent, Johnson is rooting for his former team, Penn State basketball, as it heads into March Madness. He was part of teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament and reached the National Invitation Tournament Final Four.

He expressed his excitement seeing his former team play in Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament title game.

“I was cheering pretty hard there, just the possibility that they almost beat Purdue, which is a pretty good team,” Johnson said.

With Johnson’s approval happening late Monday night, he hadn’t had the chance yet to tell his eighth-grade daughter — who’s constantly asking if her father is superintendent yet and if students can get more snow days.

“That’s always the first question ... or her friends say ‘thank your dad for the snow day!”