Ferndale Schools Big Change:
Superintendent Blake Prewitt (video)
(Crystal A. Proxmire, July 30, 2014)
There’s a new Superintendent in town, an almost all new administration in fact. When students return to Ferndale Schools in the fall they may notice a nearly complete change in leadership as the new administration takes over.
Blake Prewitt, a former high school principal in West Bloomfield and Cleveland, and Curriculum Director in Armada, has taken on the District’s top position. With former Superintendent Gary Meier and most of his top administrators having left with him to pursue their work in promoting charter schools, Prewitt is in the unique position of giving the District a fresh start with with a team full of new talent.
“I think the important piece about being a school leader is that you have to be a servant leader,” Prewitt said. “You have
to realize that you serve the students of your district and it’s about working together to do what’s best for kids.”
Prewitt shared his views on the challenges and advantages of the Ferndale School district, and spoke about the dedication of the teachers and how to increase enrollment and community involvement.
“We can send out as many fliers and advertisers as we want, but a neighbor walking to another neighbor and saying, ‘you know what, this is a great school and you need to have your son or daughter in the school’, that’s what really creates community. That’s what really creates enrollment… Being part of your kids school is being part of your kid’s education, and we educated them together.”
Prewitt sees diversity as what makes Ferndale Schools unique, along with many programs and opportunities for youth to excel. Regarding his view on educations, 
Prewitt said “The reality is its not necessarily about the subject matter you know, but if you’re ready to be a lifelong learner, if you can take the lessons of school and apply them to whatever you’re going to learn in the world. I think our students are well on that path, but I want to see our students be the next innovators, the next creators.”
Many of those in the administration are new employees, and there is a Director of 
Enrollment position to focus on student attraction and retention. One key position has yet to be filled, that of Finance Director. Prewitt said finding the right person for this job will be important in moving the district forward, and that openness and clarity would be essential. “The different negotiating units last year took a sizable decrease and that’s I know difficult for all the staff to take. So how do we try and make sure that we don’t go through that process again? That we don’t overestimate enrollment? That we kind of right-size the district? That’s a difficult process for all districts.”
View the entire interview above, or at http://youtu.be/uMQwG1RSvnI.
Learn more about Ferndale Schools at www.ferndaleschools.org.
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