The Pennsbury board of school directors appointed Regina Rausch to become the next Director of Special Education for Pennsbury during the virtual board meeting held on April 23. The appointment is effective July 1. Rausch will replace former Director Sherri Morett, who resigned from the school district last summer.
Currently, Rausch is the Assistant Director of Student Services for the Abington School District, where she oversees programming for more than 1,400 students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and more than 500 students with Gifted IEPs. At Abington, she manages five Supervisors of Special Education and the Supervisor of Gifted Education, among numerous other duties and responsibilities. Previously, she served in a variety of capacities in special education and student services for Abington and the Bucks County Intermediate Unit. Prior to those positions, she worked for Pennsbury from 2000-2011 as both a special education teacher and a behavior specialist.
Pennsbury Superintendent Dr. William Gretzula shared that close to 25 people served on the interview committee and represented various stakeholders within the school community, including board members, central- and building-level leaders, supervisors, professional and support personnel, as well as parents. Most notably, the words used to characterize Rausch were “competent” and “confident.”
“Pennsbury is fortunate to have an opportunity to welcome Ms. Rausch back to the Pennsbury nest where she served our students, families and staff well in her previous tenure,” said Gretzula. “We joked that her time at the BCIU and Abington School District were her years of studying abroad, and we are so excited for her to bring that new knowledge and enhanced skills back to Pennsbury. The committee was thoroughly impressed with Ms. Rausch’s budgeting experience, expansion of programs to support various student needs, her desire to foster positive relationships with all families even in times of disagreement, and her uncompromising belief in students to achieve to their full potential.”
Although Rausch could not attend the virtual board meeting physically due to current mitigation efforts and school closure, she asked Gretzula to share the following statement: “Tonight is a very special night for me. Twenty years ago, I started my journey as a special educator here in Pennsbury School District. I am excited and grateful to return to Pennsbury to serve our students, families and the community.”
As the new Director of Special Education, Rausch will report to Gretzula and serve as a member of the Superintendent’s Cabinet. She will provide supervisory oversight of all special education programs, as well as the development, implementation, and administration of all aspects of the special education and gifted education programs. She will also oversee psychological and behavioral services, speech and hearing support, as well as occupational and physical therapy. In addition, Rausch will be responsible for directing and overseeing the IEP, GIEP, and 504 processes, and make recommendations for action to the board of school directors.
Rausch holds a master’s degree in education from Gratz College and earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood, elementary and special education from Temple University. She also holds a certificate of applied behavior analysis from the University of North Texas, a supervisor of special education certificate form the Pennsylvania State University, and a principal K-12 certificate, also from Penn State.
