Five Questions: Karen Sweeney

Q: What prompted you to come out of retirement to take this position?

A: (The Summit) called me and said they needed somebody to take (former director Josh Chastain’s) place. I said, ‘I need some more specifics about what you think you need in a director right now.’ They said they needed someone who could help them plan, prepare for accreditation, get ready for a building, see their way through new growth. Every thing they came up with was something I had experience in, and the more we talked about it, the more energized I got. The next morning I woke up and thought, ‘Oh, I guess I’m going back to work.’

Q: What does the future hold for The Summit?

A: We’re talking with the church about leasing extra space. They’ve been great on working with us to meet our needs. We’re also beginning now, through a committee process, to look for land that might be available in the area. Next year, we’ll be launching into adding the ninth grade, so we really need to be ready to decide what we’re going to do about our future living place. While I was at Drury, I worked with (The Summit) in an advisory capacity and worked on some long-range planning, so that’s basically done. Now, we just need to put some legs on it.

Q: How has education changed in the more than 30 years you’ve been in the field?

A: Institutions of higher education are beginning to recognize what students really need when they get to college in order to succeed, and some institutions are even reforming standards and telling students what they need – math, science, history – before they get to college. People who have come from really unique programs that teach people to think critically are far ahead.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge private schools face?

A: As we build a new facility, we will not be relying on taxpayers to provide us money to build a building, air condition it, provide the books and supplies. In that sense, we’re on our own – that’s different, but it’s also exciting. Also, as in any private school, the independent school draws people who want a particular kind of education that is different in a lot of ways. So our parents are all volunteers in the school – they pay a substantial amount to come here, so they’re interested and involved.

Q: Manufacturers say that not enough students are encouraged to get specialized training or enroll in technical college. What role does education play in helping manufacturers find qualified workers?

A: As we get into more globalization, we’re going to be looking at how other countries are manufacturing, and it’s going to take people who are really prepared and flexible to help us move in whatever direction that’s going to be. That’s not to say that you won’t see people working on the line, doing the same thing over and over again. But it’s all going to change, and we need to be preparing people to make that change.