It was a small meeting room dominated by a nondescript pale table. Around it sat animated, concerned personalities who erupted in loud diatribes and shouted over each other, and under whose care the Bethlehem Area School District floundered in purpose and debt. It was a $50 million organization responsible for educating the city’s youth, but run by guests on “Jerry Springer.”

Thirteen years ago, new members joined the school board, and Joe Roy took the big administrative seat overseeing the schools themselves. BASD’s culture and function are very different today, calmer and more efficient, and an entire class of students has progressed from kindergarten to graduation under his watch. The bell has rung, and he is heading home.

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy is retiring in July.

Turning things around

Roy began his career as a teacher at Emmaus HS and by 1992 was cutting his teeth as an administrator at Liberty HS. He continued as principal at Palisades, Springfield Township, in Montgomery County before tackling BASD in August 2010. He was aware the district had financial, governance and computer issues, but he wanted to return because of the sense of tradition and history he felt when he worked here previously. But it was not an easy landing.

“My plan was get in learn from many people to understand the issues, then build approaches to fix things,” Roy said. “The first year was the roughest. I was still commuting from Philadelphia area and many long evening meetings. But, the main accomplishment of my first year was getting in place the core senior leadership team that would see us through the rough seas: Stacy Gober as CFO; Jack Silva, assistant superintendent; Russ Giordano, chief human resources officer; Mark Stein, chief facilities officer – all were hired during my first year.

“In later years, Marie Bachman as chief technology officer and Claire Hogan as chief pupil services officer became key leaders. That team stayed together for 10-plus years. Stacy retired in summer 2022, Russ is retiring along with me at the end of this school year. All others are still in place. This is unheard of in large school districts.”

Noteworthy challenges were balancing the budget while holding down taxes, removing barriers to educational equity, and the ongoing process of re-thinking the meaning of grades and assessments.

Recent years have seen another change in the landscape.

“Teachers are the glue that holds everything together. I am so disappointed when I see attacks on teachers by partisan and divisive cultural fighters.”

In 2017, Roy was named Pa. Superintendent of the Year, but this personal accomplishment remains secondary in his satisfaction to everything the district as a whole has done. His list includes turning the district’s reputation from very poor to highly respected locally, regionally and statewide; rebuilding its finances; rebuilding the IT infrastructure; implementing full-day kindergarten; the Leader in Me, Restorative Practices, Wellness Centers, Reading By Grade 3 literacy (has received national recognition), and other programs. He also made issues of equity and social justice center stage in serving a population that is made up of 60 percent students of color.

What retirement means

“This job, for 13 years, required sacrifices on the part of my wife and children,” Roy explained. “It’s time to stop asking for those sacrifices. Additionally, both of my oldest daughters will be getting married in the coming school year. I want to be truly ‘present’ in mind and spirit for their weddings without the never-ending worry and daily challenges of serving as the CEO of BASD.

“Finally, I’ll take some time to think about what is next, but I imagine some combination of university teaching, project/consulting work. I also plan to read a lot more and live a healthier lifestyle.”

It’s not over

Even as he nears his departure, Roy said he is overseeing preparations for further demands on the transportation department in the face of a nationwide bus driver shortage and coming teacher shortages. But Bethlehem remains a point of great professional and personal pride that will weather these challenges together.

“I love this community. Our beautiful diversity creates a community that gets that people are different and accepts people for who they are. This is why we have not seen the partisan cultural divisions that have hit so many districts. I’m proud of our people that make up our BASD school community.”