Revere Local School District selected Daniel White as its superintendent in April of 2024. Now, as the first semester has come to a close across the district, he is half-way through his first year with the district. He reflected on many of the lessons he has learned and memories he has made throughout his time at Revere so far.
Beginning a new job, for anyone, can be a stressful process, but as a superintendent, the transition can be daunting. Entering his first year at Revere, White understood the challenges that entering a new community would bring, having previously served as Firestone Local School Districts superintendent. White described his mindset as he started with Revere.
“People are just very welcoming. My intent this year is to just learn, understand, talk with people and get to know them, understand just what we’re about, what people are passionate about, what’s important to them, what’s important to our students, all those things. And so I’ve just been doing that this whole first semester,” he said.
Not every district is the same and to fully understand the in’s and out’s of the Revere community White went straight to the source. Throughout the first month’s of the school year White traveled around the district, meeting with various community members to gain a better understanding of what makes Revere unique. White explained his motivation behind the tour and the various groups he met with.
“I’ve met with students, parents and staff members, asking the same three questions of everybody. What do you love about our district? What areas do you want to see us improve? And what else do we need to know? And from that, it’s very clear people are passionate about our district and hold it in high regard,” he said.
The passion of the Revere community stood out to White. Although he understood that Revere was a proud district when he first began interviewing for the position, it was only after being exposed to it first hand through the tour that he could appreciate the pride Revere puts in its schools.
“When we were meeting with the students, one of them said when they go out to events with students from other schools, it means something to people when you say you go to Revere, you can be proud of it. I definitely have developed that appreciation as well. As a superintendent, I knew that coming in, and I got a taste of it right from the start,” White said.
White emphasized the value of the listening and learning tour to his own understanding of the district, but also as an outlet for community members to have their voices heard. He committed to continuing the program throughout his time here, although it might look slightly different.
Being a superintendent means getting to interface with students at all levels, unlike many other positions in education, White’s role has given him a glimpse of the district from every angle. He shared some of his favorite experiences he has had in the district so far.
“I like coming to high school lunches, the students hanging out, collaborating, talking. It’s a calm environment, but I like seeing students just relax and enjoy each other, laugh. I think in general, the world needs more laughter, and if you want to see people laughing, it seems like at lunch you see it a lot more often,” White said.
Doug Faris is the principal at RHS, and while he has been in the district for a number of years, he was announced as principal around the same time White was approved as superintendent. Due to this, Faris has worked closely with White, helping introduce him to a number of Revere’s long standing traditions.
“[White] has been to both of our assemblies and got to see the school spirit that we have. I was standing next to him at the Copley [basketball] game . . . and he looked across at the student section and he was like, ‘That is amazing.’ I mean, if you guys could see what we saw, just school spirit and pride that the students have in the school and just watching him starting to understand that that is just how it is here was very special,” Faris said.
As the district heads into the second semester, White wraps up his first year as superintendent, now with a better understanding of what makes Revere, Revere.
