Dr. James Crisfield, far right, closes out his 10 years as Wissahickon's Superintendent. (Credit: Wissashickon School District/Instagram.com).
For Wissahickon School District Superintendent James Crisfield, the last 10 years serving the school and community has been the “highlight” of his professional career.
As the school year comes to a close and the graduating class of 2025 moves on to its next chapter, as does Dr. Crisfield. An announcement came on Sept. 30 that he would step down from his position at the end of the school year.
“Other than my teaching days in a classroom full of high school students, nothing has been as rewarding and fulfilling as being part of Wiss Nation for the past 10 years,” he said.
Dr. Crisfield recently published a farewell of sorts on the Wissahickon School District website, where he highlighted some of the achievements the school district has accomplished over the last decade.
“My first day here, March 1, 2015, was...a snow day!” he wrote. “I couldn't even make the call, as I had no idea who anybody was (so our Business Manager handled it). Then, a couple days later, a WSD bus literally impaled a local taxpayer's house, right through the dining room window and wall, with plenty of images (including "Wissahickon School District" on the side of the bus, in all its glory) to flood the news and social media outlets (miraculously, thankfully, nobody was hurt). I was starting to think the universe was trying to send me a message.
“And we consistently crushed the ratings game, be it local or national in nature, which we appreciated as a general recognition of the academic excellence of Wiss Nation, but which we never let go to our heads—we never stopped believing we can get better at what we already do well.”
Some of the achievements that Crisfield highlighted include:
• We made great progress towards having our staff mirror the demographics of our student body, as we know this adds invaluable perspectives and shows our students and staff that we mean what we say in terms of truly valuing belongingness.
• We constructed an elegant monument at WHS to honor our country's fallen veterans. Simple in its beauty yet strong in its message, it is a powerful statement to everyone who comes to Wiss Nation as to where our values lie. 100% donated funds, I might add.
• We dreamed up, and then made happen, a four-year, full ride, all expenses paid scholarship for four of our very best students, a "grow your own teacher" program of sorts, which not only quite literally changed the lives of these four outstanding Wissahickon graduates, but is also sending them back to us once they finish at Gwynedd Mercy University to be teachers and role models here and change the lives of countless future students.
He also recounted his top three things he was grateful for after his time at Wissahickon:
1. Every time I was able to spend some time with students, I was reminded why we dedicate ourselves to this profession—there is nothing more important.
2. I just loved any time I could interact with teachers, too—made me remember the camaraderie of my teaching days, which were so tough...yet so rewarding.
3. And most of all, the opportunity this community gave me to be part of Wiss Nation for the past ten years—it has been both an honor and a privilege, and while we most certainly have plenty to work on, there is no better school district. Anywhere.
“And with that, I sign off for the last time as an active member of Wiss Nation. I thank you all for your support and for the memories over the years, and I promise I will never stop being blue and gold at heart.”
Mwenyewe Dawan, who is replacing Dr. Crisfield, officially assumes her position as Superintendent on July 1.
