New Leaders Welcomed

At the December 6th Board of Education Meeting, Daniel Frake was named Business Manager of the Upper Dauphin Area School District. Since 2008, Mr. Frake has served the District as a High School, Business, Computer, and Information Technology teacher. During this time he also served as the advisor of the Future Business Leaders of America and as Head Coach of the Track and Field team. Mr. Frake holds a Bachelor’s Degree in both Accounting and Economics from Bucknell University and a Masters Degree in Business Education and Office Information Systems from Bloomsburg University. He and his wife, Hannah are expecting their first child in March of 2012. Mr. and Mrs. Frake also volunteer for the American Cancer Society’s Upper Dauphin Relay for Life.

"I am excited to begin my contributions to UDASD as business manager," stated Mr. Frake. "Moving forward we will look to become more efficient, use our resources more effectively, avoid future costs, and grow our revenues. If we do all of these things together we can ensure the fiscal strength of UDASD. It will be essential that we continue to manage any changes made in the past, yet not forget about the small things going forward. In a difficult economy if everyone contributes to our budget solutions we can all emerge stronger."

Brandy Wiest began her tenure as UDA's Supervisor of Special Education and Student Services in November. From 2000 until 2007, she worked as a Learning Support/Emotional Support teacher for the Harrisburg School District. Since 2007 she served that district in an administrative post as a Special Education Facilitator. In addition to those duties, in 2010 and 2011, she was the coordinator of the Harrisburg School District's ESY (Extended School Year) program.

Mrs. Wiest earned a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Penn State University, a Master’s in Education from Eastern University, and an Administration Degree from Drexel University. She possesses Special Education (N-12) and K-12 Principal’s certification. Mrs. Wiest lives in Lykens with her husband Kerry and three children, Mason, Aiden and Hailey.

"My goal is to improve our current programming and services to better meet the needs of all students in the Upper Dauphin School District." stated Mrs. Wiest. "A quote that I live by is 'If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.' Not only is this quote applicable to education, but it’s specifically applicable to Special Education. Students who have special needs, require a change in thought, strategy, and implementation."

At the December 6th Board Reorganization Meeting, John Blyler was reelected President of the Board of Education and Gerald Wiest was reelected Vice-President. Congratulations and thanks are extended to both members for taking on this added responsibility.