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Meet Our Superintendent

Interim Superintendent Mark Hershiser

Mark Hershiser
Interim Superintendent

 

Mark Hershiser most recently held the Deputy Superintendent position for our district and continues to provide leadership as the Westerville City Schools’ Interim Superintendent. After beginning his career with our district in 1990 as a Speech and Language Therapist, he has served in many capacities throughout his 35-year career in our schools, including Assistant Director of Student Services; Director of Student Procedures, Management and Public Information; Executive Director of Student Activities, Safety, Communications and Civil Rights Coordinator; Chief of Community Relations; Chief of Administrative Services; and Assistant Superintendent of Schools/Chief Operating Officer. 

During his tenure as an administrator, Mr. Hershiser has spearheaded numerous initiatives resulting in improved organizational operations, enhanced services and increased academic opportunities for students, staff, families, and the community, including:

  • Creation of the Educational Options for Success (EOS) program, which provides an alternative approach to the traditional high school experience to help students who are over-age and/or under-credited make up credits and get back on track towards graduation. The program also offers students the opportunity to accelerate credit attainment. EOS has not only helped hundreds of at-risk pupils to complete their high school education, but it has recouped state funding which is lost when students drop out or leave the district to pursue other educational avenues. EOS in 2013 was identified as a model program for dropout prevention by the National Dropout Prevention Center /Network (NDPC/N). Two years later, EOS received the prestigious Apex Award of Excellence for excellence in implementing blended and virtual learning programs that result in higher student achievement.
     
  • Structuring of several significant corporate partnerships, including long-standing relationships with OhioHealth and Pepsi. In addition to providing athletic training services for the district’s sports teams, OhioHealth provides additional financial and in-kind support to numerous district initiatives, the cornerstone of which is the district’s Enrollment Center located in the OhioHealth Medical Campus on Polaris Parkway. OhioHealth provides thousands of square feet of space to the district at a total of just $1 per year. This partnership allowed the district to centralize its enrollment process and enhance services to families enrolling their children in our schools. Pepsi provides vending machines throughout the district’s facilities with healthy options that meet federal nutrition standards and other operational requirements. The district has received significant financial revenue from Pepsi, which is dedicated to support athletics and various other student activities at the building level. The district also benefits from a significant amount of donated products and Pepsi also funds annual scholarships available to graduating seniors.
     
  • Establishing the School Resource Officers program with local law enforcement agencies, strengthening relationships with other first responders serving our schools, and forming the district’s Safety Committee. Our first responders and other safety professionals work closely with us to ensure that our school safety plans reflect current best practices. They participate on our safety committee that meets multiple times each year and they monitor the safety drills that students practice to help us understand what we’re doing right and ways we can get better. Not all school systems enjoy this degree of involvement from their local public safety officials. In this regard, we are fortunate and thankful for all that they do to help us maintain a safe learning environment in our facilities.

Mr. Hershiser often shares how much his family means to him and acknowledges that his career would not have been possible without the continued love and support of his wife Kelly; sons Nathan, Shane, & Kyle; and Daughter-in-Law Maddie. While family remains his top priority, Mr Hershiser’s commitment to the Westerville City School District was on full display when, upon request of the Board of Education, he agreed to rescind his already-approved retirement at the end of the 2022-23 school year in order to serve as Interim Superintendent until the Board could complete its search process and hire a new superintendent for the district.