New superintendent at Windham earned master's degree at Ashland University

Michael Dobran appreciated that Ashland University’s Master of Educational Administration program wasn’t filled with busy work like some graduate programs.

“I was working full time and coaching, and long assignments and busy work would have not made me a better educator,” said Dobran, who earned his master’s degree from AU in 2003 a few years into his education career.

That and learning from professors, many of whom were former principals and superintendents, has helped Dobran work his way his into administrative education roles, including his most recent one as superintendent for Windham Exempted Village School District in Ohio.

The school district in Windham, a village of about 1,600 in Portage County between Akron and Youngstown, has around 500 students housed in an elementary school and a junior high/high school building.

“I really like the community and the job and hope to be in Windham for a very long time,” said Dobran, who was named the district’s superintendent this summer. “In all my different positions as an educator over the years, I have had opportunities to have a positive impact on my students. I am looking forward to working with Windham staff and community to have a positive impact on the students who attend Windham.”

Windham also is happy to have Dobran leading the way.

“Dobran's appointment reflects our commitment to selecting a superintendent who embodies the core values of collaboration and teamwork, integrity, authenticity, professionalism, accountability, as well as effective communication,” said Mandy Minnick, president of the Windham Board of Education, in a Massillon Independent article. “His personable demeanor, student-centered leadership style and decisive approach to problem-solving make him the ideal candidate to lead our district into the future.”

Before coming to Windham, Dobran was working in the Massillon school district as the testing and gifted coordinator.

Throughout his career in education, Dobran has worked in several districts, including Copley, Glen Oak and Alliance - first, as a math teacher, then as an assistant principal and principal. He also has been a head baseball coach and assistant football coach.

“I feel that my body of work as a teacher and school administrator helped me get the superintendent job at Windham,” he said. “The body of work started in my early years as a teacher and a student in the Ashland graduate program.”

Because his father and some of his mentors went through it and recommended it, Dobran said he chose Ashland’s Master's in Educational Administration Program to further his career. It was convenient for him that the program had a satellite campus in Massillon where he took his classes.

“It was an amazing experience for me because we were able to network with other local future principals each week," he said. "The professors were very practical, and the classes were discussion based. We learned so much from each other and from the professors.”