When Superintendent Robert Wilson retires this July, the Lakeview Local School system will be obtaining a new superintendent. LHS students expressed worry about having to adjust to new rules since Wilson has served as our leader throughout our entire school career.

While it might seem to students that he has been here forever, that is not the case. Before Lakeview knew Wilson, he graduated from Warren G. Harding in 1971 and later graduated from the College of Wooster in 1975. He found employment after college graduation at General Motors in Management/Production Control. In 1981, however, Wilson’s life story took an entirely different turn when he received his teaching certificate from Youngstown State University.

Wilson started off his career in education by substitute teaching from 1981 to 1982, with a brief stint in 1982 when he taught social studies at Lakeview. He then served several years, 1982 to 1991, as a social studies teacher at Liberty High School. Wilson left Liberty to serve as Lakeview High School Principal for 14 years until 2005 when he took on the role of Superintendent. 

As adjusting to a new superintendent is something we have never had to experience, Lakeview students have been buzzing in their own opinions about what will happen as Wilson retires. Some are looking at the down side, while others look at the plus side.

Junior Madison Harvey answered that she is worried that “a lot of rules will change” with the incoming new superintendent. Although Wilson was strict as far as his expectations of student achievement, he was also pretty easy going in his interactions with students. Some students have expressed worry about a new, unknown person coming in as superintendent, being hardcore strict, firing some of our most beloved teachers just to make a fresh start. Anticipating a mysterious overseer is anxiety producing.  

However, there is one area where students have been very vocal over the years that we would like to see a change. As many Lakeview peers know, Wilson is not lenient when it comes to our snow days. Some students, such as sophomore Mara Crish, are hoping, “our new superintendent will give us more snow days.” 

Overall, Wilson will be missed by the entire Lakeview community. All the positive changes he has brought to our students, staff, programs, and buildings have set us up for many years of success. As we are preparing to make decisions about our own careers, students should note that a simple career change decision early in his life made a positive impact not just for Wilson, but for all of Lakeview.