Just moments after he took the oath as the new superintendent of Pottsville Area School District, Jeffrey S. Zwiebel, gave new meaning to "The TIDE."
Before a crowd of 150 in the auditorium at the D.H.H. Lengel Middle School on Thursday afternoon, the district's 14th superintendent unfurled an inspirational poster he made in which he turned it into an acronym: "Tradition. Integrity. Dedication. Excellence. I know that's what you expect out of me as your superintendent. And that's what I expect out of all staff and students in our school district. I know you'll hold me to that. I will hold all of you to that also. And we will move onward and upward. And I'm really truly excited about the future here in Pottsville," Zwiebel told the crowd.
Just after 4 p.m. Thursday, Judge John E. Jones III of the U.S. Middle District Court, Harrisburg, administered the oath of office to Zwiebel on stage at the middle school auditorium before the crowd and the Pottsville Area School Board.
Among those in attendance was Dr. William Davidson, who was the district's 12th superintendent, serving from 1993 to 2003.
"I think he'll do great. He's so passionate. He loves the school and the children and everything he's ever done, he's done with enthusiasm. If anything, they might have to try to hold him back. There are some leaders you have to kick in the butt. But not Jeff Zwiebel," Davidson said.
On March 21, Pottsville Area school board unanimously approved a four-year contract for Zwiebel. His salary for the 2012-13 school year will be $125,000, according to school board member Michael D. Smink, who heads up the board's personnel committee.
The previous superintendent was James T. Gallagher, who officially retired as of Thursday.
Zwiebel had been principal of Pottsville Area's John S. Clarke Elementary Center since August 2009.
The school board is seeking candidates to fill the seat of principal at the elementary school. When Zwiebel takes his seat as superintendent, Richard Boris, the assistant principal at the elementary, will temporarily take on the duties of the elementary principal.
Zwiebel's swearing-in ceremony was originally scheduled to be held at the Howard S. Fernsler Academic Center, according to school board President John F. Boran.
However, Boran said when the school board learned a crowd of more than 100 would attend, the event was moved to the middle school auditorium.
Boran started off the presentation with a rundown of Zwiebel's resume.
Zwiebel is a 1986 graduate of Pottsville Area High School. "He graduated in the top 10 percent of his class," Boran said. He received his bachelor's degree in music education from Wilkes University, his master's in educational administration from Temple University and his doctorate in education from Northcentral University. From Nov. 1999 to January 2001, he served as assistant middle school principal at Pine Grove Area School District. From January 2001 to August 2009 he served as principal at Blue Mountain Elementary East.
His mother, Kathleen Zwiebel, is a retired high school journalism instructor at Pottsville Area. Also present at the ceremony Thursday was his father, George, a retired carpentry instructor from Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 South Vo-Tech.
Members of Zwiebel's family present included his wife, Linda, and their three children, Katie, 22, Molly, 17, and Peter, 10, and Zwiebel's sister, Kelly.
Peter, a fourth grade student John S. Clarke Elementary Center, gave his father a vote of confidence: "I think he's going to do well."
Zwiebel said he hopes to continue to inspire growth and innovation at the district.
"I expect, very soon, every school district in the county, before they do anything, will pause and say 'Let's see what Pottsville's doing before we make our decision,' " he said.