Photo by Cindi Dixon
Thinking. About Business.
Cynthia Burkhart, DEd, executive director at Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Drumming It In
Cindy Burkhart at IU 13
By Bill Simpson
Cindy Burkhart is truly a hands-on educator. Her position as executive director at Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit
13 requires her to spend plenty of time in her office and in meetings, but her busy schedule doesn’t prevent her from
employing a teaching technique that may truly make her unique among American educators.
Cindy’s office houses a large collection of hand drums that come from countries around the world, and she uses them
in therapeutic drum circles. She spent many years in the classroom, and she found that drums were a valuable teaching
resource. “I used them with eighth-grade kids. I found that they learned history best when I related things to culture and
food.”
Many of her drums come from Africa and the Middle East, and she has a “talking drum,” which was outlawed in the South
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because slaves could use it to communicate over long distances. She’s no longer in the classroom, but she’s continuing to
use the drums as a teaching tool, and on September 11, she’ll be holding a drum circle for the IU’s adult education staff.
After that event, many of those staff members may find themselves singing, “I hear the drums echoing tonight …” from
Africa by Toto.
Cindy is now in her sixth year as executive director, and she was previously the assistant director for 2 years. Before joining
the IU, she had a long teaching career that began in Cleveland. Then she came to Lancaster to visit her sister Vickie, who’s
now the director of elementary education in the Penn Manor School District, and decided to stay. Cindy taught at Cocalico
and Ephrata and also served as a building principal and as assistant superintendent at Ephrata before taking the position
with the IU.
In Lancaster County, she met Larry, her husband of 30 years, who was also an educator. He retired as superintendent at the
Eastern Lancaster County School District and then hit the trail. “At 63, he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail. He covered
2,079 miles alone.”
Cindy is also an avid hiker, and this summer she and Larry shared a hiking trip that combined wild days with comfortably
mild nights in the Bavarian Alps. “My requirement was that I needed a shower and a bed. The Sierra Club sponsored
the trip. We landed in Munich and spent 2 weeks hiking the highest peaks in Austria and Germany. They had a German
Shepherd who smelled each of the hikers and kept us together.”
More hikes are in their future, and they have a book called Fifty Places to Hike Before You Die, but many of those 50 are in
the western United States and Canada, and they come with a hazard that may keep the Burkharts away. “Grizzly bears.
There were no bears in Bavaria.”
Cindy and Larry have two daughters who both graduated from Garden Spot High School. Elizabeth is 25 and works as
a public relations specialist for Whole Foods in Austin, Texas. Alyssa is 28 and an MD in Miami, where her wedding will
take place in November.
Cindy grew up in Bergen County in northern New Jersey, and her parents, who now live in Lancaster County, operated
a Middle Eastern Linen company in Manhattan. When it was time to look for a college, she visited Allegheny College in
Meadville, Pennsylvania, and the visit was a family affair for her closely-knit family. A male cousin was visiting Allegheny,
so Cindy and family also went along. Cindy liked the small liberal arts college and spent 3 enjoyable years there, plus her
junior year in Austria. She also received her master’s in education from Allegheny, and, “In these times when everyone
seems to be hiding from the name Penn State, I remain proud that I got my doctorate in educational administration there.”
One lesson that she’s learned well is that being active is very rewarding, and she fits plenty of activities into her days and
evenings. “I teach Middle Eastern dance and Latin dance at Top Hat Dance Studio in Leola on Saturday mornings. The
classes are for women only, and Middle Eastern dance is actually very conservative. We have a dance group that does
shows, and we donate the money that we raise to Claire House.”
Every year, she also does a fundraiser for the IU in her home. “I hold a Foundation Dinner for 16 people, and the money
that we raise goes toward assistive technology for kids with disabilities. My father cooks, and our guests get a full course
Middle Eastern meal. We’ve built up a loyal clientele, and I wonder if we should move to a bigger location to raise more
money, but then we’d lose the atmosphere.”
She and Larry don’t prefer to cook at home, and while Lancaster’s restaurant offerings have diversified, a Middle Eastern
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restaurant isn’t yet on her Lancaster list. “We do like to go to Cedars in Camp Hill. It has a true Lebanese menu.”
Larry is a big sports fan, especially of the Eagles and Phillies—which means that he’s had a painful summer. Cindy would
prefer to dance or hike than to watch. “I’m not the fan that he is. He has to drag me along to a game.”
Since she doesn’t go to many games, she has more time to serve the community, and she does so through her involvement
in many different organizations. “I just completed a 3-year term as a board member to the Lancaster Chamber of
Commerce. I serve on the leadership team of the Community Transformation Grant, administered by LGH. I’m a member
of the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units, a member of the Pennsylvania School Board Association, and a
member of the PA Association of School Administrators.”
And she even finds time for a little one-on-one teaching. “I’m a volunteer for the Lancaster Women in Business mentoring
program, and I’m mentoring a high school student from McCaskey this year.”
And then she has her responsibilities at the IU, which is a “hybrid of an educational agency and a business.” The IU now
has its offices in the Burle building on New Holland Pike, and Cindy’s office is in the area where RCA, the original owner
of the property, invented the color TV tube.
The IU’s most visible services are probably the ones that help children and adults with disabilities. The organization has
about 1,400 employees, and more than half of them are teachers whose students range in age from kindergarteners to
adults. “Our teachers definitely have a special calling. We serve thousands of children with disabilities, and we call our
teachers our angels.” The IU also provides educational services for adult education, nonpublic schools, and preschoolers
and their families.
The IU has 22 board members, one from each of the districts in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. “There’s something very
special about these board members. They’re all willing to work hard to do what’s best for everyone.”
Different IUs have different approaches to their mission of serving students, and IU 13’s approach extends beyond the
classroom. “IU 13 is very entrepreneurial.” One example of that is the facility’s conference center, which many local
businesses and organizations use for their meetings.
“Our 31 directive is to save a district money, and we can do that through group buying power. Now we’re also working
across the state, and even across state lines.” Two examples of the ways in which the IU saves money for its members are
the Electricity Procurement Consortium and the IU 13 Statewide Software Program, which negotiates with software sellers
for discounts on software programs.
Cindy Burkhart is an educational and community leader with a strong business sense, and she’s truly passionate about her
work. “I love my job. It’s been a journey and a wonderful one.”
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