With years of experience working in districts across North Carolina, most recently as the chief operating officer of the Orange County school district, Patrick Abele said he chose to accept a position at Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) because of the district’s “strong value in education” and the superintendent’s “wonderful leadership.”
The CHCCS Board of Education officially confirmed Abele as the district’s new assistant superintendent at a meeting November 15, though Abele did not start in his new position until January 15, with several visits to Chapel Hill High School in his first few weeks.
Abele began his career as a classroom teacher in Raeford, North Carolina, teaching both third and fifth grade. When Abele left the classroom and transitioned to an administrative position, he focused largely on technological integration in Hoke County Schools, beginning with a grant program through Microsoft and Toshiba that offered elementary and middle-schoolers access to laptop carts.
“We had great success with that,” Abele said of the program. “That’s when I made the bridge to instructional coordinator, helping teachers integrate technology within the classroom. At the time, there wasn’t really the wealth of internet resources we have now, so we had to create quite a bit of the content that our students used or had access to.”
Since his involvement in the laptop program in the 1990s, Abele has continued to focus on educational technology as an administrator, serving as a technology specialist in both Hoke and Robeson County Schools.
At CHCCS, Abele says he hopes to focus on offering students access to technology.
“Certainly having access to global ideas and a global community is very important, and technology can assist us with that,” Abele said.
Technology is one of Abele’s main responsibilities as assistant superintendent, along with overseeing areas like facilities, student assignment and school safety. Generally, according to Abele, each district chooses the assistant superintendent responsibilities, though the position is very similar to his previous job in Orange County.
“Each district kind of decides what areas fall under your support services,” Abele said.
While still familiarizing himself with the CHCCS district, Abele said he will try to acquaint himself with each individual area he will oversee. Additionally, Abele hopes to gather community opinions on matters in the school district.
“With me, coming to a new district,” Abele said, “[it’s about] talking with as many folks as I can and understanding what’s been working well, what our plan [is] and how [our plans] align with the priorities the district has already set, and if we’re meeting the deliverables for [those priorities] in a way that creates success for all of our students.”
Of the programs in the district already underway, Abele said the construction at Chapel Hill High School, and the timing of the construction, is one of his priorities.
“I’ll be assisting with the construction project that’s taking place on this campus and ensuring that the building opens up when it’s expected to be open in a couple of years,” he said.
Abele stressed that while the construction progress may not always be noticeable, the process involves both big and small changes to result in an improved building.
“It may not be easily recognized when you drive by the school, like a new roof being put on or a new HVAC system, because those are just things we would expect to have, but they’re necessary and critical to keeping the buildings operating as we expected,” he said.
Principal Charles Blanchard acknowledged that inclement weather has resulted in some delays, but new structures beginning on campus will allow progress to be more noticeable.
“You can start to see things coming out of the ground, so, when things come out of the ground, you can start to see visible progress at a much faster pace,” Blanchard said.
Having already worked in the Orange County area for four years, Abele is eager to continue educational growth in the community at CHCCS.
“[CHCCS has] all the right ingredients to be a successful organization,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to join and be a part of it.”
