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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 25 March 2014

Created: 25 March 2014

Last Updated: 25 March 2014

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The 2014 Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) has nominated a banker and a lawyer for election to the Scarsdale Board of Education on May 20, 2014. On March 24 the committee announced that Chris Morin and Scott Silberfein have been nominated to fill the seats currently held by Jonathan Lewis and Sunil Subbakrishna, who earlier this year announced that, although eligible for reelection, they had decided not to seek a second term. Mr. Morin and Mr. Silberfein are each being nominated to a three-year term on the school board.

SBNC Chair, John Clapp, stated: "Chris and Scott are highly accomplished candidates who, I believe, will serve the school system with distinction. Although this year we were confronted with the decisions of the two incumbents not to run for a second term, we were fortunate to be selecting from a pool of well qualified candidates to fill those vacancies. On behalf of the SBNC, I would like to thank all of the applicants for the time and effort put into their candidacies and their willingness to devote their talents to serving the community in this way. Their participation enriched the process immensely."

Commenting on his nomination, Chirs Morin said, "Education ranks highest among issues that matter to me and my family. It's particularly exciting to join the School Board at the same time that a new superintendent joins the District. As I told the School Board Nominating Committee, I look forward to working with the community to help ensure Scarsdale's future as one of the best school districts anywhere."

Before retiring from banking last year, Chris spent most of his career working in the Investment Banking Department at Credit Suisse in New York, Hong Kong and London, initially as a banker and ultimately as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Strategy. During a five-year absence from Credit Suisse, he worked for the New York Stock Exchange in London, managing the Exchange's business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and for Thomson Financial, where he ran the Investment Banking, Private Equity and Institutional Research Segment. He graduated in economics with honors from Harvard College and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. His wife, Mei, works as a substitute teacher in kindergarten through fifth grades. His son attends Scarsdale Middle School, and his daughter attends Fox Meadow Elementary School. The Morins moved to Scarsdale from Hong Kong in 2009.

Scott E. Silberfein, a Scarsdale resident since 2006, is an attorney at NYC-based law firm Moses & Singer LLP where he specializes in business, equipment lease financing, employment, bankruptcy and class action defense litigation. He grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey and attended the University of Delaware (1994) and the Cardozo School of Law (1999). In Scarsdale, Scott is active in the Greenacres Elementary School PTA, Vice-President of the Greenacres Neighborhood Association, a member of the board of directors of the Scarsdale Youth Soccer Club, and is a member of the board of trustees of Westchester Reform Temple where he also serves as President of the Men's Club. Scott also serves on the board of the Westchester/Fairfield Chapter of the Crohn's Colitis Foundation of America. He lives on Oak Way with his wife Joey and their three daughters who are in the 5th, 3rd and 2nd grades at Greenacres Elementary School.

Silberfien told Scarsdale10583, ""I am flattered and appreciate the trust that the SBNC has placed in me to continue the excellent tradition of our school board members, including Mr. Lewis and Mr. Subbakrishna. I am passionate about providing the best education for all of our District's children and wholeheartedly believe in the Scarsdale Education for Tomorrow. This is an exciting time in the history of our district as we welcome Dr. Hagerman to Scarsdale, work on a district-wide facilities plan and develop a strategic plan. I am eager to get to work with Mr. Morin, my other future Board colleagues, the administration, and all community stakeholders. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve our high-achieving and well-respected district."

The community will vote on the proposed 2014-15 Scarsdale School budget as well as the two school board candidates on Tuesday, May 20 at the Scarsdale Middle School.

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 18 March 2014

Created: 18 March 2014

Last Updated: 18 March 2014

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The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC), a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to presenting the best of independent, documentary and world cinema, promoting visual literacy, and making film a vibrant part of the community, has named Edie Demas as its new Executive Director. She will assume the position on May 1st.

Edie brings a wide range of experience to the JBFC. Active in arts education networks locally, nationally and internationally, she has spent 20 years focused on arts appreciation and education programming, including serving as the Director of Education at New York City's New Victory Theater for ten seasons. Under her direction, the Theater's education programs were honored with the Americans for the Arts annual award for Arts Education, and Demas herself received a BAXten (Brooklyn Arts Exchange) award in recognition of her work with teaching artists and young audiences.

David Swope, Chairman of the JBFC's Board of Directors, noted that "we are fortunate to have attracted an individual with this depth of experience. We are excited to bring in such an accomplished arts educator to continue our work in quality film programming and to expand the impact of our innovative visual literacy curricula. Not only does Edie bring a wealth of experience; she has the ideas and vision necessary to enable the JBFC to continue to succeed as one of the country's leading film and media education centers."

Demas was selected after a nation-wide search conducted over six months by an executive search firm that reviewed more than 100 applicants. "There were many highly qualified candidates for this position," Swope said. "But after careful review, our board unanimously concluded that Edie's background, abilities, energy and overall interest in JBFC's mission set her apart."

In assuming the position, Demas becomes the first Executive Director to follow founder Steve Apkon who held the post for 12 years. Apkon is stepping down to head a newly created nonprofit media production company. He will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.

"I am honored by the opportunity to help build upon the great work that has already been accomplished in film programming, education and media literacy in Westchester County as well as at the national and international level," Demas said. "Just as the JBFC is a dual mission organization, I have had a dual mission career. I have always been drawn to opportunities that link arts/culture to education. The more fully these entities are intertwined, the better. Like the JBFC, my work thrives when it is grounded in community engagement. I am very much looking forward to becoming part of such a dynamic organization, stellar team and vibrant community."

Demas leaves her current work consulting with the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills to return to New York. From 2001 to 2010, as Director of Education at the New Victory Theater, she designed and grew their education Partnership Program to reach 30,000 school children annually. She also taught at NYU, serving as Adjunct Instructor for the Program in Educational Theatre during that time. Earlier in her career, Demas served as Director and Curator of Unreel, a youth and family festival at the Cork Film Festival in Ireland. Edie holds a Ph.D. in Educational Theatre from New York University.

Demas and her husband, Chuck Graef, a composer, have twin 3-year olds and look forward to joining the Pleasantville community.

Founded in 2001, The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to presenting the best of independent, documentary and world cinema, promoting visual literacy, and making film a vibrant part of the community. The JBFC campus in Pleasantville, NY (30 miles north of Manhattan) includes a three-screen theater complex, the Media Arts Lab, and a residence for visiting artists. Since its founding, over two million people have seen over 4,500 films from more than 40 countries, and more than 100,000 students have engaged in JBFC's innovative education programs. To learn more about the Jacob Burns Film Center and Media Arts Lab, visit burnsfilmcenter.org.

Photo Credit: Russel Peborde

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 11 March 2014

Created: 11 March 2014

Last Updated: 11 March 2014

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Robert Berg, the incoming President of the Scarsdale Forum and a watchdog on school budgets, aired his concerns about the Superintendent search process at the Board of Education meeting on March 10. Specifically, his comment concerned the selection of community members for a committee to review candidates for the district's top job. He criticized the Board for delegating the selection of five members of the community to PT Council President Pam Rubin, rather than choosing the members themselves.

He turned heads at the Board meeting when he said that Rubin's selection of representatives would have been more appropriate for a search for a "district rabbi" than a superintendent, arguing that the candidates lacked a diversity of views, concerns or backgrounds. He said the group was all "cut from the same cloth" and that none represented "the views of many residents who seek greater fiscal rigor in the operation of the school district."

Here are excerpts from his comments at the meeting and the text from an email Board President Suzanne Seiden previously sent to Berg on the subject:

Discussing the search process at the meeting, Berg said, ".... We were supposed to have an announcement (from the Board) in February for the formation of a committee to review the superintendent candidates and meet the finalists before the decision was made since community buy-in is so critical. I would have expected some announcement in February that a committee was being formed and some solicitation of community members. I would have expected that the Board would have selected a committee that reflected the diverse make up of our community with residents from more than 50 nations, from many religions and ethnicities with disparate beliefs on what the role of public education should be and how it should be funded."

He continued, "Instead there was radio silence... I sent an email to Suzanne Seiden and when I did not receive a response I started digging around. I learned that a month ago you appointed Pam Rubin (PT Council President) to pick whomever she wanted for five slots on the committee; so no surprise she picked the usual suspects – herself, and her friends, Pam Fuehrer, Irene Sternberg, David Brodsky and Suzanne Glazer."

"Not to denigrate any of these long standing volunteers, but in light of the first school budget defeat in 43 years and the community's sensitivities and interest in the extraordinary opportunity to hire a superintendent, how could you have possibly abdicated your and the boards' responsibilities for selecting community member participants to Pam Rubin? What were you thinking? We are conducting a superintendent search – Pam's selection would have been more appropriate if we were searching for a district rabbi. Pam's selections, while all valued community members, are all cut from the same cloth. They have all been vocal supporters of past budgets and the administration's education philosophy and priorities. While 53% voted against the budget last year, I can assure you that Pam's selection were not among them. None of the committee members has been the parent of a special education child, none of the committee members represent the views of many residents who seek greater fiscal rigor in the operation of the school district, none of the members represents our large international community. The lack of the diversity of backgrounds and views is striking, yet you allowed it. It appears too late in the process to correct this, but it is very unfortunate that this very avoidable scenario now taints the community's limited input into the selection of the next superintendent. Nevertheless I trust and hope that the Board's selection will be an extraordinary superintendent and I look forward to the announcement of who that will be."

Berg's comments were met by a moment of complete silence at the meeting. Addressing Berg, Seiden said, "I really tried this year to ask for the community to have a respectful tone, but I think you crossed this line. Happy to hear your views, but when you personalize things about other people, that is not appropriate.

Here is the text of an email Seiden previously sent to Berg regarding the Superintendent search process:

Dear Mr. Berg,

Thank you for your email of March 5, 2014 and for your offer of help. You are correct in noting that we planned to interview candidates in the latter part of February with a goal of choosing our next superintendent in March. It is also true that we expressed anintent to involve community members in this process.

We have completed that portion of the process. Our search consultant strongly advised that we conduct the entire search in confidence in order to attract the largest and highest quality pool of applicants. The Board nonetheless insisted on at least limited community involvement. We agreed to have a small advisory group sign confidentiality agreements, meet the finalists and share feedback. This group of 13 people included teachers, principals, parents, other community members, and a high school student. Several district office administrators also had separate meetings.

Within the legal boundaries of confidentiality, the Board has conducted a very transparent superintendent search process and sought the community's input in the fall through focus groups and surveys. Our job specifications were developed directly from the responses to the focus groups and survey, and these specifications have framed the search. The advisory group's mandate was to offer the Board its collective perceptions of candidates' strengths and areas for growth relative to those specifications. We specifically did not want, nor did we receive, a recommendation or vote on what action we should take with regard to an appointment.

As you know, the Board is responsible for selecting the superintendent of schools. In fact, along with developing an annual budget to place before the public, this is one of our most significant responsibilities, and one we should not and cannot delegate. However, given our district's traditions and history, we wanted to obtain perspectives from the broader educational community before we made our decision.

Please know that we appreciate that you have shared your views with us. We have weighed them carefully in the context of the range of views we have heard throughout the search process.

Before the school year is over, there will be a number of opportunities for community members to meet our next superintendent. We hope you can attend one or more of these events and look forward to your engagement with our new superintendent. Please feel free to let me know if I can be of further help in this or any other regard.
Thank you.

Suzanne Seiden
President
Scarsdale Board of Education

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 04 March 2014

Created: 04 March 2014

Last Updated: 04 March 2014

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Scarsdale resident Jill Weisfeld has published, Take a Peek with Peek-a-Bear. Thebook is cleverly designed using colorful imagery and playful poetry that takes you on a exciting interactive adventure with the character Peek-a-Bear. It is the first of a series of "Peek & Play" books.

Take a Peek with Peek-a-Bear was awarded a gold medal in the prestigious Mom's Choice Award, in the category of Children's Picture Books, and a silver medal in the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, in the category of Book Arts/Pop-up/Cut-out.

"Publishing a children's book has always been my dream," says Weisfeld. "With encouragement from my family, I've pursued this idea and it's been a labor of love along with raising my three daughters."

"I've been selling them like hot cakes" says Bonnie Ernst, owner of Scarsdale Childs Play, "It's a great interactive book that is quickly becoming a gift on everybody's list."

Weisfeld is currently Art Director of the Pediatric Cancer Foundation and has done freelance graphic design for various non-profit organizations including Temple Israel Center of White Plains. She is formerly Senior Art Director at Bride's Magazine and Art Director for Macy's Advertising in New York. She is Founder and CEO of her own publishing company, Peek-a-Bear Press based in Scarsdale.

"I am always jotting down ideas in my sketch book. I wanted a unique interactive book that really encourages kids to use their imagination," explains Weisfeld.

Weisfeld is a 15 year resident of Fox Meadow where she lives with her husband, Bruce and her daughters Emily, Danielle and Lauren.

The book is available on Amazon and at Child's Play in Scarsdale, Voracious Reader in Larchmont, Womrath Book Shop in Bronxville, Tralala in Irvington, Try and Buy Toys in Pleasantville, Miller's Toys in Mamaroneck as well as other bookstores in the Westchester area.

Award Winning Author Hanna Pylväinen to speak at Concordia on March 13.

Whiting Award-winner, Hanna Pylväinen will discuss her debut novel We Sinners, at Concordia College's Sommer Center for Worship and the Performing Arts on Thursday, March 13, 7pm. The Whiting Award, established in 1985 by the Whiting Foundation, supports creative writing by recognizing ten emerging writers of promise and accomplishment each year with individual grants of $50,000. Pylväinen is also a recipient of residencies at the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo, and a fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

We Sinners is the story of the Rovaniemis, a family of nine struggling with the demands of a conservative Finnish church in modern Michigan. The book is told from the point of view of each family member, each of whom gets a chapter, and the story reveals how the faith that binds a family together can also tear it apart.

Elizabeth Taylor of the Chicago Tribune proclaimed the novel, "a resonant and magical work of imagination."

A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Pylväinen received her M.F.A. from the University of Michigan, where she was a postgraduate Zell Fellow. She current lives in Brooklyn and is working on her second novel.

Concordia's Books & Coffee series is made possible through the generous support from Friends of Concordia. Admission is free and no reservations are required. For questions, please contact ellen.desaintphalle@concordia-ny.edu or call Ellen de Saint Phalle at 914-337-9300, x2159.