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Awards, diverse experience attest to Springfield schools chief’s zeal
New Middletown
Hung on the walls of Debra Mettee’s second-floor office and set on shelves are the many awards and degrees the Springfield schools superintendent has received throughout her 32-year career.
The degrees range from her master’s in education administration to a law degree she sought at night while teaching at South High School in Youngstown during the day.
And then there’s the nursing degree Mettee has, which she used on her first day as Springfield superintendent after a custodian cut her head open on a towel rack.
The awards and honors range from the Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana’s Outstanding Service to the Hispanic Community award to the Buckeye Association of School Administrators’ Betsy N. Cowles Leadership Award she received in May.
As her peers and colleagues attest, they are symbols of Mettee’s hard work.
“She is intelligent, insightful, prepared ... a wonderful communicator and very knowledgeable,” said James Hall, retired superintendent of South Range schools who now serves with Mettee on the Youngstown Academic Distress Commission.
“I’ve never seen anybody work so hard,” said Shorty Navarro, owner of Stadium Auto Group and friend of Mettee’s for 35 years.
For the 57-year-old, her love for education began as a child.
“I’m from the ’60s back when President Kennedy was saying we need teachers and during ... that big push for education,” she said.
She grew up on the South Side of Youngstown where her parents, both college graduates, taught her the importance of a college degree. Mettee graduated from Youngstown schools and then Youngstown State University in 1978 and began teaching a year later.
In 1983, she moved into her first administrative position as the coordinator of the bilingual director, using her fluent Spanish-speaking skills to help Hispanic students flowing into the school system.
“At one time in Youngs-town, we had 800 students that didn’t speak in English,” she said. “I just loved that job. Our goal at that time was to reduce the Hispanic dropout rate,” she said.
Since then she has stayed involved in the Hispanic community.
Navarro, who also was chair of OCCHA for 15 years, said her ability to know Hispanic culture and the legal system is key to the community.
“A lot of people, they come through here and they don’t understand American culture,” Navarro said.
Mettee’s understanding of Hispanic culture stems from her many trips to Mexico with her stepfather.
As superintendent, she also helps the migrant families who come through the rural Springfield district she now runs. Although there are several aspects of a city district she misses, Mettee likes the slow pace and the closeness of Springfield.
She remembered once when a class took a field trip to a flea market and one girl returned with a goat on the bus.
“They were no longer allowed to bring animals back on the bus,” she said, laughing.
It was at Springfield where she made her biggest accomplishment, becoming the first female superintendent in Mahoning County.
“When I came to Springfield, people said they’d never hire a female superintendent at Springfield,” Mettee said. “I’ve gone over that bridge that leadership comes in many forms and that leadership is diverse.”
While serving as superintendent, she is also chairwoman of the Youngstown Academic Distress Commission.
“They could not have found a better chair,” Hall said. “She’s respectful of every person involved.”
Looking back at her award-winning career so far, she gives her to desire to educate herself more weight than luck.
“I think luck is 90 percent preparation and 10 percent opportunity,” she said.