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For information on submitting an obituary, please contact Reading Eagle by phone at 610-371-5018, or email at obituaries@readingeagle.com or fax at 610-371-5193. Most obituaries published in the Reading Eagle are submitted through funeral homes and cremation services, but we will accept submissions from families. Obituaries can be emailed to obituaries@readingeagle.com. In addition to the text of the obituary, any photographs that you wish to include can be attached to this email. Please put the text of the obituary in a Word document, a Google document or in the body of the email. The Reading Eagle also requires a way to verify the death, so please include either the phone number of the funeral home or cremation service that is in charge of the deceased's care or a photo of his/her death certificate. We also request that your full name, phone number and address are all included in this email. All payments by families must be made with a credit card. We will send a proof of the completed obituary before we require payment. The obituary cannot run, however, until we receive payment in full. Obituaries can be submitted for any future date, but they must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to its running for it to be published. Please call the obituary desk, at 610-371-5018, for information on pricing. Dr. Scott Davidheiser Boyertown Area School District Every new school year brings renewed positivity and hope for continued improvement and success in a school district. The Boyertown Area School District is no different. In fact, with the first quarter of the 2025-2026 school year nearly over, Boyertown’s newly established five-year strategic plan and associated goals have helped to strengthen and focus the district’s approach to sound and research-based instructional and assessment strategies, along with prioritized, specific teacher/staff training necessary to carry out the vision of the district to meet benchmarks. To assess our district’s newly established vision, plans, and approaches to so many variables, I must observe firsthand the impact these changes and new methods have on our students and staff. Therefore, for the 2025-2026 school year, I decided to give up my office in the Education Center on Montgomery Avenue in Boyertown and take up a monthly residency in each of our nine school buildingsspread across nearly 100 square miles within the school district. I spent the past two months in Washington and Gilbertsville Elementary Schools and now am present at Middle School West. This has allowed me an opportunity to do the following: observe instruction in classrooms, sit in on many staff meetings, learn about how our new methods to identifying data and how incorporating tiered instructional approaches based on that same data is impacting students and ultimately being present and engaged with our staff and students to ask the necessary questions that truly give me the feedback needed for future planning and adjustments. In addition to observing the instructional components at elementary, middle and high school levels this school year, I also meet with and take extensive walks through the nooks and crannies of each building alongside the building’s custodial staff. These experiences have already informed my planning to better align facilities with the spaces needed for safe learning environments. What has struck me over the past two months is how stretched I feel at times throughout the day. The need to respond to scheduled meetings within other district buildings on any given day does not diminish, nor does the need to consistently meet and plan with other central office staff and school board members to prepare for the future. However, my decision to take up residency in all nine district buildings this year was the right one. It has made me better and, in turn, it will help improve and strengthen our school district. As an educator for nearly 30 years and superintendent for the past seven years, my advice to every sitting superintendent in the commonwealth is to get out of your office. Do not just visit buildings in your district; take up residency and try to become part of the fabric of each one. The interesting things you learn when you regularly sit with students at lunch or for more extended periods in a classroom, and the perspective it will bring you as superintendent, are invigorating. The conversations and commitment you share with each building’s teachers and staff during the time in the buildings are inspiring. Thank you to all Boyertown students and staff for allowing me to become part of your building’s culture in 2025-2026. To all superintendents in the commonwealth — get out of your office and get onto the dance floor of your district. It’s in those buildings and their nooks and crannies where you get to make your best moves. Dr. Scott Davidheiser is superintendent of the Boyertown Area School District in Berks and Montgomery counties.
