BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Bethlehem Area School Board is wasting no time in appointing a new superintendent.
Just a few days after Superintendent Joseph Roy announced he will retire in July, the school district released a statement indicating the school board's intention to appoint Jack P. Silva as his successor.
- The school board intends to appoint Jack Silva
- Silva currently serves as assistant superintendent
- He's a graduate of Liberty High School who has been an administrator with Bethlehem since 2010
But neither Roy's retirement nor Silva's appointment was a surprise, according to some.
“I've always thought Dr. Silva was the next [superintendent], for the past couple years,” school board president Michael Faccinetto said Monday. “That has kind of been the long-term strategic plan between the board and between Dr. Roy and Dr. Silva.”
He said Roy announced his planned retirement to the board almost a year ago, giving board members enough time to conduct a search if Silva had declined the position.
“Everybody knows Dr. Silva so the public has access to him, the teachers, parents, students – there's just that familiarity,” said Faccinetto. “With him, we didn't really feel the need to have those community forums that would have been done if it was [candidates] from the outside.”
Silva, a 1982 graduate of Liberty High School, started working for the district in 2010 — the same year Roy became superintendent.
A product of Bethlehem schools, Silva is currently the district's assistant superintendent and chief academic officer.
A school board vote to approve him for the top job is set for April 24, the district said.
“It is an honor to be presented with this opportunity,” Silva said in a prepared statement. “I am looking forward to building upon the excellent work being done by our faculty and staff, as well as extending BASD partnerships with the Bethlehem community."
Silva is a lifelong school district resident whose children graduated from Bethlehem schools.
"We are blessed to live, learn, and grow in this wonderful school community where each person matters and everyone has a path to a brighter future,” he said.
Faccinetto said the district will be in capable hands.
“I am confident Dr. Silva will continue to keep the BASD moving forward as the premier district in the Lehigh Valley," he said in a prepared statement.
"Under his leadership as assistant superintendent and chief academic officer, our students have been given access to new curricular opportunities and have grown academically.”
“I am looking forward to building upon the excellent work being done by our faculty and staff, as well as extending BASD partnerships with the Bethlehem community."Jack Silva, BASD assistant superintendent
Prior to joining the district, Silva was an administrator in the Souderton Area School District in Montgomery County. He was a principal, assistant principal, director of secondary education, and director of K-12 education.
Silva received his doctorate degree in educational leadership from Lehigh University; his master’s in education from Kutztown University; and his bachelor's in secondary education from Pennsylvania State University.
