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Welcome Dr. McDonald

 

 

Join us in welcoming our new Executive Director, Dr. Mike McDonald! As many of you know, Dr. McDonald has been a long-time dedicated member of our PCS Community. He is the father of two alumni, Mary (2012) and Ben (2015) and his wife, Lauren, was school nurse at PCS for many years. He is the Vice President of Meeting God in Missions and has been taking members of the Warrior family on mission trips to the Dominican Republic since 2009. He has also coached our varsity girls’ basketball team for the past 11 seasons and has previously served on the PCS board.
 

Dr. McDonald earned a BA in Chemistry from WVU in 1985 and an MD from WVU in 1989. He founded Slippery Rock Family Medicine in 1992, built it up into a thriving clinic with 6 providers, and after 30 years as a Physician in the Butler Health System, finally retired from medicine 2 years ago. 
 

When asked why he chose this career path at PCS he stated, "To serve God and be part of what He is doing at PCS. I always wanted to do something that could make a difference. After retiring from medicine,
I have been praying for an opportunity to do something that I am passionate about and can make a difference in the lives of others. God has given me training, experience and skills, and the passion for PCS
to apply them here."  When asked why parents should send their kids to PCS, his response is “Families should consider PCS because we live in a world that is trying to tear down the family and destroy our kid’s self-image and values. Children as well as adults need someone to speak truth into their lives, to build them up and equip them to face the world and then win the battles that they are going to face every day. That’s what we do here. And we do it in a setting where kids get a great education and a fantastic overall school experience. One of the best decisions I ever made was to send my kids to PCS. Not just my kids, but my whole family has been transformed by our experience here.”
 

Dr. McDonald says he enjoys time with his family and taking care of his new grandson, Teddy. He also enjoys Bible study, fishing, and camping, and is an avid gardener. He strongly believes that PCS is a place where lives are transformed, not just the students, but the lives of the families and staff as well. He firmly believes that God is faithful and is looking forward to what God is going to do in and through PCS.
 

In this position, Dr. McDonald will oversee the business aspects of our school. These areas include Finances, Human Resources, Development and Strategic Planning. We are confident that he will use the skills he developed as a business owner and the passion he has for our
school to help lead PCS into the future.  
 

Meanwhile, the educational facets of PCS, such as the curriculum, will remain under Mrs. Szlembarski, who has been filling both the Principal and Head of School roles for the past several months.  The hiring of Dr. McDonald will allow Mrs. Szlembarski to, once again, focus her considerable skills on the duties as Principal.
 
Although the board interviewed multiple candidates for a traditional Head of School position, the combination of having a business-savvy Executive Director and a strong, education-focused Principal was recommended to us by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
as the best model for a school our size.  With Dr. McDonald and Mrs. Szlembarski in those respective roles, we are eager to see where the Lord takes PCS!
 
We ask for your continued prayers and support as we welcome Dr. McDonald into this new position in our PCS community.

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New Faculty Spotlight: Mr. Miller

November 21, 2024
By PCS Marketing Team

We are pleased to introduce our new band teacher, Mr. Matt Miller! Mr. Miller (second from the right in the family photo) earned his Music Education degree from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Matt's primary instrument is the trumpet, although he is trained on a wide variety of musical instruments. You may have heard Matt perform at our Veteran's Day Program.

Since graduating, Matt has been employed at Noteworthy Music, where he has several students who he continues to instruct. Matt heard about the band director from a posting that his mother saw, and he decided to apply. He wanted to be a teacher to inspire and lead students to do their best in everything they set their minds to. Matt expressed that he wishes to be a positive role model because, too often in our culture today, negative role models are highlighted more frequently than positive role models. When asked why he chose PCS, Matt replied, “I want to lead others to greatness and teaching is the best way I know how. I wanted the opportunity to help students, but also help this school develop a band program that will last.” 

This semester, Matt is laying the groundwork to launch one-on-one lessons next semester. These lessons would include instruction on various instruments, musicianship skills, and performance skills. He also hopes to have group rehearsals and possibly classroom instruction. Currently, Matt is working with the hand chime group this semester. Matt firmly believes that learning music is a worthwhile endeavor. He says, “Music is really cool, and you should consider getting involved in something if you have never before or haven't in a long time. Never listen to music at face value, dig deeper.” 

In his spare time, Matt is dedicated to training for a possible future in baseball. He is gifted and experienced in this area and feels he wants to be ready if God opens the door to that possibility. He also enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He says he is extremely competitive and brings that passion to everything he does. 

While Matt's own experience was in a public school, since joining the staff at PCS he has noticed that things at a Christian school are different. “I could tell right away that this staff and student body is a family. Everyone looks after each other and wants to see others find success. I never had that experience in high school by any means.” We agree that PCS is a special place, Mr. Miller!  We are so glad to have you on staff and look forward to your investment in the students and music program at PCS!

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