Don Davis

When deciding on a career, teaching seemed to be the logical choice for Saltsburg Elementary Principal Don Davis. Both his parents were teachers as well as two of his aunts. He started out his career teaching third and fourth grades in the United School District for a total of twenty years. He then moved into the Assistant Principal position for five years before coming to the Saltsburg School District in 1999. Don will be going into his thirtieth year in education.

When I asked him why he chose elementary education he had two reasons. The first was because his dad was an elementary principal and the second was this, "If you can't be happy in an elementary school you can't be happy anywhere. The kids are great. They are always happy and they love school."

Don feels that one of the most important things to being an effective educator is improving students' math and reading scores. This is important because it helps with the student's overall achievement. It is also important to have a student-friendly school, and they are working towards making Saltsburg Elementary School a "put-down free" school.

Besides Don's teaching degrees, he is also a member of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. He is certified to teach people to be SCUBA diving instructors and has been teaching this course since 1988. Don says that he is semi-retired because of time limitations now that he is principal of a school but he does teach one class a year at Scott's Scuba in Freeport. He goes SCUBA diving himself about two times a year to keep up with his skills.

His biggest hobby right now is working on dirt bikes with his son Brian. They also like to ride pedal bikes as a family at the Ghost Town Trail near his home. They go there almost every weekend. Don, his wife Bonnie, and their fifteen-year-old son Brian live in Buffington, PA. They attend the Graystone Church in Indiana.