New Beginnings for the Scarsdale Schools

It was a big night for transitions at the Scarsdale Board of Education meeting on July 8 when the Board named a new president and vice president, welcomed new board members and the new Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Hagerman and offered thanks to long-terms staff members and teachers.

Dr. Thomas Hagerman, the new District Superintendant was present at his first meeting since starting the job on July 1. The Board also greeted Christopher Morin and Scott Silberfein who began their terms as BOE members on July 1. The Board elected Mary Beth Gose as President and Leila Maude as Vice President for the upcoming school year. Gose, a former trustee of Scarsdale Village is now serving the last year of a six-year term on the Board of Education, and Maude, a relative newcomer, was elected in 2013 but has quickly gotten up to speed.

Dr. Haberman addressed the room and spoke highly of all those he has met during his busy first week of coming up to speed on the Scarsdale schools. He said everyone has been warm and welcoming. He thanked the BOE including recently retired members Sunil Subbakrishna and Jonathan Lewis for hiring him and issued a special thanks to Suzanne Seiden for shepherding him through the process and helping to make his transition to Scarsdale a smooth one. He said he is 'honored to be here" and "optimistic about the future of Scarsdale schools" and is looking forward to serving the district.

Board President Gose welcomed Dr. Hagerman. She said since starting work here one week ago, Dr. Hagerman has "hit the ground running with intelligence, energy, enthusiasm and an observant eye." She stated that the Board is looking forward to working with and supporting Dr. Hagerman in setting goals and objectives for the coming year. She noted that Scarsdale values education and has a "strong, thriving community of parents who support the schools" and also a "strong diverse community of empty nesters (including Ms. Gose) who continue to support the schools long after their children have graduated." She also extended a warm welcome to the new Board Members. She closed by stating the Board is at a pivotal time in its educational history. She likened the Board's present state of being to the experience of students starting a new school year who at that very particular point in time are under the influence of previous teachers and prior experiences but also aspiring to new challenges with a mind for learning, hard work, and a strong desire to improve.

Arthur Rublin, Chair of the Coalition for Scarsdale Schools, spoke during the comment period. He welcomed Dr. Hagerman and expressed thanks for the service of Suzanne Seiden as President over the last year. He said:

"If one were to look at any one of the four major School Board endeavors in the past year – the search for a new Superintendent, the development of a Master Plan, the development of a Strategic Plan, and the development of a Budget for the next school year – one would say that would be a challenging project. But Ms. Seiden led the Board in its efforts on all four, devoting remarkable energy to communication with the community and stakeholder groups at the same time.

Ms. Seiden led with intelligence, exceptionally good instincts, sensitivity, and a refreshing sense of humor which included, yes, innovative ideas about how to make serious and occasionally mind-numbing Board matters arguably entertaining through the use of sports analogies and related references to sports.

Ms. Seiden led with an enormous amount of dedication. It was estimated at a previous meeting that a total of approximately 1800 person-hours have been worked by various people developing the capital projects proposals on which the Board reached consensus in May. I would venture to say that Ms. Seiden herself probably worked in the neighborhood of 1800 hours this past year as School Board President for the benefit of Scarsdale schools and our community. As a volunteer. Remarkable. And that was after she had worked many, many hours as Board Vice President during the 2012-2013 school year, and on the Board prior to that as well. You personified Non Sibi, Ms. Seiden, during your tenure as School Board President, and the Scarsdale School District community will always be in your debt. Kudos, and many thanks. "

The Board lamented the retirement of Lois Q. Rehm who served three roles in the Scarsdale School District. She was the Secretary to the Superintendant, the Secretary to the BOE and also the District Clerk. She has worked in Scarsdale for over 30 years. Many Scarsdale residents have only been aware of her presence, if at all, from seeing her at BOE meetings. However, she has had a huge impact on those who work with her. Dr. Hagerman expressed regret that he will not have the opportunity to work with her for much longer. Each Board member paid tribute to Ms. Rehm citing her dedication, vast institutional knowledge, generous spirit, sense of humor, and professionalism. She was described by so many as "critical" to the operation. Linda Purvis, Assistant Superintendent, said, "we all know that nobody is irreplaceable, but Lois is as close as it gets". Ms. Rehm's importance to the district over the years was also demonstrated by the fact that former BOE Presidents took the time to pay tribute to her at the meeting including Robert November, Jill Spieler, Bill Miller (speaking for himself and on behalf of Liz Guggenheimer) and Barbara Jaffee. Ms. Rehm was presented with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Dr. Joan Weber, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Administrative Services, presented the personnel report covering among other items the appointments of Department Chairs, District Coordinators, Teacher-in-Charge positions as well as extracurricular assignments. There were also several new hires to the district. The new school year will welcome:

Carlos Bedoya as Social Studies teacher, Scarsdale High School. B.A., Political Science, Villanova University, M.A., Teaching Social Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University.

Caren Reinhardt as Speech and Language Pathologist, Greenacres. B.A., Linguistics, Stonybrook University, M.A., Communicative Disorders, College of Saint Rose.

Agetina Smajlaj as School Psychologist, Greenacres. B.S., Business Administration, College of Mount Saint Vincent, Ph.D., Psychology, St. John's University.

James Tully as Health teacher, Scarsdale High School. B.S., Physical Education, Adelphi University, M.S., Health, Brooklyn College.

Jennifer Kuo as Mandarin teacher (part-time), Scarsdale High School. M.A., Hunter College, Teaching of Chinese.

Also, Ann Marie Nee, who has been teaching Social Studies at Scarsdale High School, has been appointed as the Director of the Scarsdale Teachers Institute.

Dr. Weber announced the resignation of Scott Haberkorn, Vocal Music Teacher, after 12 years of service and the retirements of Diane Anda, Special Education Teacher, Greenacres after 19 years of service and Patricia Dempsey, Classroom Teacher, Quaker Ridge after 30 years of service.

Angela Manson, outgoing SHS PTA President and Quaker Ridge parent, spoke of the loss that will be felt at Quaker Ridge with the departure of Mr. Haberkorn and especially of Ms. Dempsey.

She said, "Scott Haberkorn's love of music is apparent and we've enjoyed many performances during his twelve years in the district from Broadway tunes to American folk themes to interpretive international melodies. He calmly conveys lessons in pitch, rhythm and rhyme. We'll miss him greatly."

About Ms. Dempsey she said, "Patty Dempsey is a brilliantly dedicated teacher who is passionate about her students. She's been a star at Quaker Ridge School for the past thirty years having returned to teach here after growing up in Edgewood. She invests herself fully in her career and many students, parents, and colleagues, feel that Patty's teaching methods are unparalleled. We'll miss her quiet smile and wish her all the best in new horizons."

I also received this statement about Ms. Dempsey from Quaker Ridge Parent, Anne Daniel:

"We felt lucky to have Ms. Dempsey for my daughter and then to have her again for my son was like hitting the jackpot. She made a huge impact on my children. She will be sorely missed at Quaker Ridge School."

Helen Bush, a writer for the Scarsdale Inquirer and former student of Ms. Anda, spoke of remembering Ms. Anda's 3rd grade class with fondness. She stated that it was with Ms. Anda's encouragement that she discovered her love of writing and ability to be creative.

This meeting also covered matters of regular business such as June 2014 district enrollment (4791 students, up by 44 students from the previous year), the acceptance of gifts, the agreement with Scarsdale-Edgemont Family Counseling for the Youth Outreach workers in the high school and middle school, the approval of a lease agreement for instructional computers and the approval of the District Safety Plan and the District Code of Conduct.

Future meetings for community members include July 22 at 10:30am to discuss facilities plans and the next Board of Education meeting on September 8 at 8:00pm