The Observation Deck

Jeffery Patterson the new Superintendent for Lakewood Schools.

Patterson to be named successor to Lakewood Superintendent Madak
District’s current assistant superintendent to assume leadership post Aug. 1
LAKEWOOD - The Lakewood Board of Education at its meeting tonight, Feb. 22, is set to name Lakewood Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey W. Patterson as successor to Superintendent P. Joseph Madak.

The exit of Madak, whose last day will be July 31, 2011, and hiring of Patterson is part of an ongoing succession plan that Madak and the Board have been collaborating on for some time.

“When we hired Joe, we knew that he was only going to be here a few years,” said Board President Matthew John Markling. “One of the charges he had coming in as superintendent was to have a succession plan in place.”

“We had always brought (Madak) here to get a job done and he’s accomplished that,” Markling continued.

Tops among those accomplishments was passing a 6.9 mill operating levy in May 2010 and overseeing more than $4 million in cuts that has played a crucial part in the administration’s efforts to keep the district on stable financial ground in the face of an economic recession and a state budget crisis.

While Madak has been focused on district finances, Patterson, who has been with the Lakewood City Schools in an assistant superintendent role since August 2006, has been deeply involved in the academic side of the administration.

Patterson is co-facilitator of the district’s Ohio School Improvement Process, which is the district’s long-range plan for improving student achievement. As assistant superintendent, Patterson is deeply involved in course development, curriculum and professional development.

“For the past five years I have had the opportunity to work with administrators, teachers and classified (support) staff.  Together, we have made significant strides in improving teaching and learning as well as integrating technology into the classroom,” Patterson said.
Patterson will be working even more closely with Madak from now through July to ensure a seamless transition.
“Dr. Madak has done an excellent job of leading our school district and I look forward to working closely with him to provide a smooth transition,” Patterson said. “I am honored to serve the students of this district by working with our Board of Education, our staff, parents and community members.  Together we can continue to improve upon the rich tradition of the Lakewood City School District.”
Added Madak: “He (Patterson) will be intimately involved with preparing the plan that will have the greatest possibility of enabling the Lakewood City Schools to succeed academically and financially in the next few years regardless of what the future may bring.”

Patterson’s more than 35 years in education has him well-prepared to tackle the challenges of Lakewood’s district of 5,600 students. Before coming to Lakewood, he served as superintendent for six years in the Orrville City School District. He has taught social studies at the middle school and high school levels, spent four years as a principal at Ashland (Ohio) Middle School and held assistant superintendent positions with the Ashland and Orrville school districts.

The man Patterson will replace will be leaving Lakewood for the second time. Madak, who was hired in August 2009, previously served as the leader of the district from 1995 – 2004, during which time he earned Superintendent of the Year honors from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators.

The 67-year-old Madak, whose three-year contract allows him the option to forgo his third year, said his leaving reflected his desire to spend more time with his wife and family, who live in California. “During these past two years, my wife and I have lived dual lives,” he said.

Board President Markling praised Madak for what he has accomplished in his time in Lakewood: “He came in and put us on the path to secure financial footing without significantly sacrificing the academic quality and breadth of programming expected in this district. The Board is grateful for his service to Lakewood and Lakewood’s children.”

Madak’s departure will end his more than four decades in public education, most of it serving the children of Ohio and more than a decade of that time as the head of the Lakewood City Schools.

“We have had the good fortune of having an educator the stature of Dr. Madak as Superintendent. In any field, there are those exceptional talents who stand out. Joe Madak is such an individual in education.  As he concludes his time with us, we can confidently say Lakewood is clearly better for his having been here," said Board Member Edward Favre, who was Board President when Madak was hired.

Added Markling: “We are eager to move our district forward under the leadership of Jeff Patterson in whom the Board is confident can help guide us through the many challenges ahead and maintain the excellent standing this district has had in this community for generations.”

Jeff Patterson Bio

Patterson brings depth of experience from all levels
Educator has done a bit of everything in his three-plus decades in the field
LAKEWOOD – When Assistant Superintendent Jeff Patterson takes the reins of the Lakewood City Schools from Superintendent P. Joseph Madak on Aug. 1, the longtime educator will be stepping into a role that appears a natural transition for a man who has worked at all levels of education from elementary through high school to administration.

When Patterson graduated from the University of Akron in 1974 with his bachelor’s degree, his first job out of school was as a high school social studies teacher in a tiny (about 600 students) district in Richland County. The school district was so small that he was a one-man Social Studies department who also had to pitch in as the varsity baseball coach, JV basketball coach, junior high football coach and Student Council advisor and eventually became Dean of Students. It was his first taste of what it was like to have his hands in many different aspects of a school district.

Hailing from Ashland, Ohio, Patterson remained in Richland County for the first two decades of his career. His career has included positions as principal at Crestview High School and Ashland Middle School, assistant superintendent for Ashland City School District, an elementary consultant for Richland County Schools, then assistant superintendent and finally superintendent for Orrville City School District for 6 ½ years before being hired as assistant superintendent for secondary and alternative schools for Lakewood in August 2006.

It was no easy decision for Patterson and his wife, who is a teacher in the Lakewood Schools, to leave the part of Ohio they had spent most of their lives in to relocate to Northeast Ohio. As superintendent in Orrville, he had just finished shepherding through a districtwide school construction plan that involved a great deal of community engagement and a successful bond issue campaign. Lakewood was about to embark on its own master facilities plan and Patterson knew of Lakewood’s reputation for community involvement.

“It was a great opportunity to come to a larger community that was very invested in engaging its citizens,” said Patterson, who lives in Lakewood.

In his five years with Lakewood Schools, Patterson has been part of team that has seen student achievement rise as indicated in the Performance Index Rating of the State Report Card, helped implement the Lakewood City Academy alternative and digital learning school, integrate new technological tools into classroom instruction and been deeply involved in budget reduction decisions. He feels he’s ready to step in to running the district.

“I have a good understanding of where we’re at educationally and where we need to improve,” Patterson said.
And he is not wary of becoming superintendent at time when school districts are facing unprecedented economic challenges. “If I didn’t feel we were up to the challenges, I would not want to take it on,” he said.

Patterson also emphasized that the financial leadership Madak has shown and the plan the two are developing along with Treasurer Rick Berdine to move forward will help as the district tackles the new landscape in state funding coming its way.

And if the State throws the district a curveball when it unveils its budget July 1, Patterson will have the background to handle that as well. In 1980, Patterson was part of a men’s fast-pitch softball team that was second in the country in the American Softball Association. Besides earning his chops in the classroom in the late 70s, Patterson was traveling all around the country with his softball team, which was the winner of several state titles as well.

No matter what crosses his desk as the next Superintendent of Lakewood Schools, Patterson believes that with an “excellent staff that is very focused on students” in conjunction with a spirit of cooperation between the staff, the Board of Education and the community, Lakewood will continue to be successful in its core mission.

“It comes down to providing the best education possible for each and every student in our district,” Patterson said.