MOUNT VERNON – Very early in his career, Joe Mazzari admits, he looked at the world through rose-colored glasses.
“I thought people got married, stayed together, and families remained intact,” he said. “I quickly learned that is not always the case.”
Next month will mark his 10th anniversary at the Knox Learning Center, a K-12 alternative school operated by the Knox County Educational Service Center (ESC).
The school serves kids who have difficulty succeeding in their home schools for a variety of reasons, including behavior or attendance issues, bullying, broken homes or an inability to function in a large classroom setting. A few are autistic, while others have mental or physical challenges.
Mazzari, 58, wears several hats – husband, father, grandfather of five, second-term mayor of Danville, and now director of the Learning Center.
“I started here at the Learning Center in a behavior modification role,” he recalled. “I got kids to sit down and talk with me when they were at their worst, whether the result of difficulties at their home schools, trouble at home, whatever.
“I got them to think about their situation and how to change it. I got them to trust us, look at their circumstances and work toward a positive outcome.”
He has continued that approach since ESC Supt. Dr. Timm Mackley promoted him to director when Ben Snedeker left five years ago to become director of student services at East Knox Local Schools.
Mazzari’s career has always focused on serving others. After graduating from high school in Parkersburg, W. Va., he spent two years in the criminal justice program at West Virginia University.
Relocating to Danville, he started as a citizen ride-along with village police officers before graduating from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in February 1989, then serving as a village police officer until 1996.
Mazzari focused on interacting with children during a long tenure as a juvenile probation officer under then-Judge James Ronk.
“I was given the files of kids who were missing school, getting into trouble,” he said. “My job was to find out what was going on by talking with parents, schools and the kids themselves.”
It was not a 9-to-5 job. Mazzari’s wife Lisa, who serves as a counselor at The Learning Center, recalled in a 2021 interview that her husband’s home life was sometimes interrupted by an after-hours call about an emergency juvenile probation issue.
“Joe would leave to deal with it and sometimes he would come back with a child who needed a temporary place to stay,” Lisa said.
Judge Ronk developed the concept of the alternative school by creating a small staff to oversee the academic assignments of students who had been suspended from school. Otherwise, the judge said, those students would think they simply were on vacation and free to wander around town.
“Early on, many in the public looked upon it as ‘the bad kids school,’” Mazzari said. “But it was never intended as punishment. In the years that followed it developed into the Learning Center, where kids have an opportunity to succeed educationally in a smaller, often one-to-one environment.”
A student is assigned to the Learning Center after Mazzari’s staff interacts with the child’s parent or guardian and their home school. The center serves all five Knox County school districts and several others in surrounding counties.
Students’ average stay at the Learning Center is 18 months before returning to their home schools, although some remain much longer. Emphasis is on proper behavior while smaller classes and individualized instruction help kids catch up on reading, writing and math skills.
Over the last five years approximately 35 Learning Center seniors received their diplomas after meeting the same academic criteria as graduates at all Ohio high schools.
Mazzari credits the commitment of those who work at the Learning Center, whether certified teachers, classroom aides or support staff. All understand, he said, that a student’s negative attitude or disruptive behavior may be the result of hunger or not sleeping the night before because of what was happening at home.
Breakfast items and lunch are provided. There are donations of shoes and winter clothing for those in need.
“I am very proud of everyone here,” Mazzari said. “You can’t always find the kind of people we have here who care about kids without concern for how much money they can make or how many benefits they may or may not have.”
Mackley said he was right about Mazzari from the start.
“When I hired Joe Mazzari in 2016 I thought that he would bring valuable skills to our school. I was correct,” Mackley said.
“His years working with the juvenile court gave him valuable insight into the challenges faced by many of our students and his compassion and natural love for kids fit perfectly in the environment of the Learning Center.”
How does Mazzari manage the dual roles of Learning Center director and mayor of Danville?
“In both places I am blessed to have good, reliable people I can count on. That makes all the difference,” he said.
As he nears his 10-year anniversary at the Learning Center in October, Mazzari’s daily routine remains the same.
“I’ll spend a lot of time interacting with the students, walking the halls to encourage them,” he said. “If a student is upset or becomes disruptive I will bring them to my office to calm down. What happened? How can we correct it?
“My greeting to incoming students does not change: ‘We don’t care WHY you’re here. We’re going to help you.’”