Aug 8, 2025 By Garrett Neese 3 min read

Eric Gaydos spent more than a decade at the Laurel Highlands School District when he moved to the West Greene School District in 2019 to become the academic director.

Leaving that comfort zone was a big jump. So he took another big step in return, talking to teachers and community members to learn more about their concerns so he could start working on the solutions.

“I just listened and took everything in and probed deeper into what it was they were talking about, just to get a good idea,” he said.

Now, he’s working on version 2.0.

Gaydos started work as the district’s superintendent in July. He was named in June to replace retiring Superintendent Brian Jackson.

He’s looking to continue to build a more career-ready culture within the district.

“Being a small, rural school district, I think we have a little more flexibility in being able to make the changes necessary to provide that workforce to the industries,” he said. “We are definitely a future-ready, future-driven kind of school district.”

He also wants to make sure the district has a voice on labor boards and is in contact with state and federal representatives to communicate the district’s needs — and, from hearing their needs, seeing what opportunities exist in Greene County.

Within the community, he wants to champion growth and celebrate students’ achievements.

The district has never had more students receiving industry-based certifications. The district’s career and technical education programs are also thriving, growing from around 40 students when he began as academic director to more than 100, Gaydos said.

He’s also happy to see new Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs being offered.

“When students leave West Greene, we’re focused on our students either being enrolled in higher ed, or they’re enlisted in one of the military branches, or they’re extremely employable,” he said.

Gaydos came to West Greene in the 2019-20 school year, which quickly got interrupted by the pandemic. As chaotic as that was, he found a silver lining: It expedited the district’s process of technological upgrades.

Looking back on his tenure as academic director, he’s proud of the number of dual-enrollment opportunities the district has created, which allows some students to receive more than 30 college credits before they graduate.

Some dual-enrollment pathways allow students to earn certifications such as AWS Cloud Computing or Google Information Technology, which they can take directly into the workforce.

The programs are free of charge through collaborations with community groups such as the Clark Opportunity Foundation.

“This gives them that opportunity to try these classes out now, without that financial risk, and to carry that financial burden even afterwards of having to take out student loans to give them an idea of whether or not they can do it,” he said.

Gaydos said he’s enjoyed the journey that’s brought him to his new role.

“I feel that I carry a weighted responsibility beyond just the superintendency and that I have my wife and my family being very vested into this district,” he said. “I want to make sure that I’m upholding that and making this place better than it was before I got here.”