Back in his basketball coaching days, Bernard Prevuznak, Ph.D., would sometimes stride into the post-game locker room with a bunch of bananas and toss a few to the players as a reward for a tough defensive performance or a good shooting night.
Dr. Prevuznak took the idea from a motivational speech he heard by Hall of Fame coach Al McGuire, who urged the audience to always strive for the top banana on the tree. As the new superintendent of the Wilkes-Barre Area School District, Dr. Prevuznak has a huge task ahead of him before he and the district can reach that highest piece of fruit.
Fraught with plummeting test scores, underperforming schools and a student population with high levels of poverty, transience and non-native English speakers, the district also faces shrunken financial support from Harrisburg and increasing expectations from Washington. Pile all that on top of past scandals involving the school board, and you begin to get an idea of the problems challenging the new boss.
Dr. Prevuznak, 54, is a product of the district he now heads. Born and raised in Wilkes-Barre, he graduated from Coughlin High School in 1976, then went on to Wilkes University, the University of Scranton and eventually Temple University for his Ph.D. He began substitute teaching for the district in 1980 and has been there ever since, working as an art teacher for 17 years before moving into administration.
"We're going to examine everything," Dr. Prevuznak said. "Anything is on the table."
Contact the writer: pcameron@citizensvoice.com, @cvpetercameron on Twitter