New Aliquippa School District superintendent talks plan for the district

ALIQUIPPA, Pa. — A leader in education who is known to turn around underperforming school districts is taking on the the role of superintendent for the Aliquippa school district.

Dr. Philip Woods will be leaving the halls of Woodland Hills High School for Aliquippa.

Woods said he knew he had a challenge on his hands at Woodland Hills, but with dedication to the staff, students and the community he paved a path to success, working tirelessly to build the high school into what it has become.

At the start of the pandemic, Woods jumped into action early to make sure seniors finished the year strong.

Woods then launched a fundraising campaign that was so successful, every student in the district received a laptop.

But his success at Woodland Hills took time to build.

“A need was to deter the violence in the community, and there was a correlation. As the school improved, the violence went down,” he said.

His formula for success is simple.

“The main ingredient to the formula is transparency,” he said.

Another ingredient is building relationships in the community.

“We were able to reduce the major suspension rates by 60%; we were able to increase the graduation rates,” he said.

Throughout his career, Woods has always been sought after to transform underperforming districts. Before Woodland Hills, he was hand-picked by the former superintendent of the West Mifflin School District to take on the role of high school principal.

His most memorable moment was the time he gave a student who was dying of cancer an early diploma.

Now, Woods is headed to his hometown as the new superintendent of the Aliquippa School District; but leaving isn’t easy.

“I make commitments to parents and some of the students, I don’t want them to feel like I’m not holding the commitment. Being called home, I couldn’t say no — because there is a community at home that has the same issues as here,” Woods said.

His formula for success will be the same.

“I work tirelessly to diagnose what the deficiencies are and work with the staff to fill those voids,” he said.

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