OBSERVER Photo by Andrew David Kuczkowski After an administrative change, the Gowanda Central School District is still polishing its edges to make itself more efficient.

GOWANDA — Many people make their New Year’s resolutions about improving themselves. However, the Gowanda Central School District began working on itself at the start of this school year.

The middle school was labeled a focused school, while the district was a focused district, as determined by the state. The announcement came because of the school’s poor results in various areas. The administration determined change was needed and thus acted on it.

The change was in removing a middle school principal and placing Dave Smith in the role of the high school assistant principal. High School Principal Dr. Robert Anderson and Elementary School Principal Carrie Dzierba split the middle school grades. Dzierba oversees kindergarten through grade 6 and Anderson oversees grades 7-12.

The elementary school also put together a leadership team. The idea was to have the faculty members of each grade effectively convey the same teaching materials for the grade level, which then can assist the students in having a uniform education.

With all these immediate changes, teachers and administration worked to see progress.

“We had a meeting the other day, and overall, things are going well,” Gowanda Superintendent James Klubek said of the adjustments. “Have there been some issues? Absolutely. Our Elementary Principal (Dzierba) has been out quite a bit with some health issues. As far as (grades) 7-12, Mr. Smith is doing well in his new position.

“He’s enjoying it and he says he’s found a new lease on what he’s doing because he’s excited about the new opportunity. So he’s been doing a fantastic job.”

Dzierba’s health has left her off and on for work. The district has brought in two elementary principal substitutes, Delia Bonenberger and Kevin Munro. Munro started in October and worked until Nov. 22, then Bonenberger stepped in.

At times, both Dzierba and Bonenberger/Munro worked in the same office. The cost of the extra principal has not affected the school’s budget.

Bonenberger looks to fill the role until February, but nothing has been put in place afterward.

With Smith being moved to a high school assistant, he has a focus on the disciplinary work. Dr. Anderson then can work more with his larger teacher base for academics.

“It’s hard to get a true gauge of how well it’s going because we’ve been short-handed, but the fact that we’re making progress and we haven’t had a full staff is a pretty good indication that it’s something we’re going to continue with,” said Klubek.

This information was given to the board of education at a recent meeting, but with the number of caveats to measure the development of the transformation, officials believe in the summer, there will be a more in-depth assessment.