The Observation Deck

photo of Superintendent Dr. Joe Madak entering the Board offices. (photo by Jim O'Bryan)

It is with great sadness that we learned today of the passing of former Lakewood Superintendent Dr. P. Joseph Madak. Dr. Madak served as the Superintendent of Lakewood City Schools from 1995 – 2004 and 2009-2011. During his tenure in Lakewood Dr. Madak won the Ohio PTA’s State Superintendent of the Year award and the Buckeye Association of School Administrator’s Superintendent Exemplary Leadership Award.

Dr. Madak successfully led our community in creating a vision to restructure the District’s learning environments. Once the Facilities Master Plan was created, he put that plan in motion. It is due to his creative and strong leadership that once Lakewood High School is completed next fall, his vision of new buildings will be realized. Also, earlier in his tenure as Superintendent, he led the District in establishing financial stability after several failed levy attempts. The impact of his leadership will exist through many generations of Lakewood students.

We offer our sincerest condolences to the Madak Family.

Jeff Patterson
Superintendent

I think the schools' superintendent position is very unrecognized. It takes a good school board to make this serious hire and a good superintendent to undertake and understand a community's needs.
Lakewood has been fortunate through effort to have had good administrators.
Superintendent Madak was one of those.