Staff Spotlight - Donna Smalt

Donna Smalt is the steady heartbeat of Fairborn Digital Academy. 

Since 2012, Donna has been the first face students see when they walk through the door, and she sets the tone for the structure, love and compassionate attention students know they can receive at FDA.  

When students enter the building, they know she will greet them with kindness, but they also know she expects respect, focus, and accountability. Donna sees every arrival as a chance to help students reset, center themselves, and step into their day with purpose.

Donna takes her role seriously because she knows how much it matters. She takes her responsibility seriously to teach the students respect and manners. She wants them to look back on their time in school and think through the ways in which they learned perseverance and persistence, and she takes pride in knowing she helped students reach the finish line, even if she was not the one teaching a class.

Donna believes deeply in the potential of every child. She says there are no bad kids. There are only bad decisions, and all kids deserve someone willing to fight for them. FDA, she says, often receives students who have been overlooked or misunderstood by the traditional system, and when they come into the school, there are a lot of trust issues and boundary testing. She sees her job as giving them a chance to reset and start over. 

When students enter the building, they can expect Miss Donna to welcome them with her special blend of warm compassion and tough love. She helps them learn how to communicate with respect, handle boundaries, manage phone systems, read analog clocks, and understand what the real world requires. 

“These kids don’t know the real world,” she said. “School is not the real world, but I hope they look back and think Miss Donna taught them respect and manners.”

Donna says the FDA model succeeds because the staff takes the time to know families and build open communication. Many students arrive carrying heavy stories. They need to know someone will stand with them. Donna makes sure they feel that support the moment they walk in.

“I want them to know they can keep going. They can do it,” Donna said.

Every year, Donna also leads the charge on graduation. She organizes the music, the celebration, the ceremony, and creates the perfect atmosphere for the joy and pride to fill the student center at Wright State. It is often the first graduation in a family, and the pride in that room is unforgettable. 

“Graduation makes everything worth it,” she said.