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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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With an air of joy and pride the Scarsdale School Board marked the completion of a nine-month search for a new Superintendent of Schools, announcing that Dr. Thomas Hagerman will succeed Dr. Michael McGill, who will retire at the end of the school year. The board called a special St. Patrick's Day meeting to share the news to a room filled with teachers, administrators, PTA leaders, former board members and community leaders who applauded the decision.

Hagerman comes to Scarsdale from Winnetka, IL where he led the "high-performing" school district since July 2011. Board members described him as an "inspirational leader who is cooperative and collaborative and trusted by all." He arrived in Winnetka at a time of turmoil -- after the district had gone through three superintendents in just three years. He is credited with writing a strategic plan for the district that became a common platform and guide to decision-making. He also designed an award-winning communications plan to deliver his vision of a child-centered curriculum. According to Board Member Leila Shames Maude, who was on a team that made a site visit to Winnetka on Thursday March 13, his colleagues there called him a "visionary, with great integrity who is destined to do great things." Speaking of his high energy level, another team member said, "He runs at 45 and the rest of us run at 33."

Speaking about Hagerman's background, Board Member Bill Natbony called Hagerman a "visionary for the 21st century," and an "esteemed educator with 20 years of experience. At Winnetka, Hagerman headed up a district with five schools that served about 1,900 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The district included three elementary schools, a fifth/sixth grade center and a seventh/eighth grade center. Prior to the position at Winnetka, he served for three years as the school superintendent of another K-8 district in River Forest, Illinois with 1,327 students. He came to Illinois from Oregon where he was a principal, assistant principal and taught English, Social Studies and Technology for 6 -12 graders.

Hagerman holds a Bachelors Degree in English (1992) and a Masters Degree in Education (1994) from Lewis and Clark College and a doctorate in Policy Organization and Management from the University of Oregon, which he completed in 2003.

Natbony said that the incoming superintendent has significant expertise in building consensus, a strong relationship with the community and hires strong leaders." Maude said that during their site visit, "Everyone was positive and reflected everything that the board had heard earlier on." Maude repeated some of the glowing comments she heard about Hagerman from those who worked him.

"He gets the best out of everyone ...He is a good steward of tax dollars ... He gives teachers the confidence to take risks ... He has a great sense of humor.... He is unafraid to reverse course... He takes creative risks....Working with him you need to step up your game."

Maude said that the people in Winnetka recognized that Scarsdale offered a great opportunity for Hagerman but were very sorry to see him go. In fact, the Winnetka
Teacher's Association asked for an apology from the Scarsdale committee for taking him away. According to the Winnetka-Glencoe Patch, Winnetka District 36 also announced their choice of a new superintendent for their district on Monday night after Hagerman accepted the offer from Scarsdale.

Scarsdale Board members had nothing but praise for Hagerman and acknowledged that though they may have been divided on issues in the past, on Hagerman they all agreed Commenting on the decision, Board Member Lew Leone said, "We are all excited about the future of Scarsdale Schools under Dr. Hagerman. I hope we can set aside our differing views and come together to support Dr. Hagerman in Scarsdale."

Bill Natabony added, "I wholeheartedly endorse the appointment of Dr. Hagerman.  We want nothing but the best. This is a very picky board. We were not going to settle on a candidate. We are a board with differing views and priorities and he managed to impress the whole board."

Board VP Sunil Subbakrishna told the group that he grew up near Winnetka and was familiar with the school, saying, "He seems to fit. ... He is a terrific combination of left and right brain skills, a creative problem solver and a consensus builder."

Mary Beth Gose echoed the sentiments of her board colleagues saying "I wholeheartedly support the decision. Hagerman has the energy and skills to lead our district."

Jonathan Lewis said, "He gets it. He comes equipped with the intellectual firepower to generate a substantive, full footnoted conversation with anyone in the room. I could not be more proud of what we have done today."

The board emphasized the thorough nature of the national search under the direction of consultants, "School Leadership" who were retained in 2013. The firm held 50 focus groups involving 200 residents and followed that with an online survey with 742 respondents. Information from the focus groups and survey were used to develop a list of job specifications that defined the search. Among these criteria were the following:

• An experienced collaborative leader
• A courageous innovative educator
• An open highly transparent communicator
• A skilled assessor of staff and programs who put children at the center
• Savvy about school finances
• Approachable, accessible, fair minded, and of unquestioned integrity

The board met with candidates in February and an advisory committee of parents, teachers, staff, principals and community members met with the finalists in March.

Hagerman will take the reins beginning July 1, 2014 with a three-year contract and a starting salary of $295,000. He will be the tenth superintendent of the district in 89 years. The first superintendent, Ralph I. Underhill was appointed in 1925 making the average tenure for the job almost 10 years.

Hagerman is decades younger than his predecessor and will undoubtedly bring new energy to the district. An ambitious leader with an impressive career trajectory, he has served two districts in just six years, and will now face the challenge of managing Scarsdale, with double the number of students of his previous district as well as a prominent high school, which is sometimes called the crown jewel of the system.

From all accounts, his ability to relate to diverse segments of a community, communicate common goals and reach consensus will serve him well here.

Former Board President Florie Wachtenheim who chaired the advisory committee for the search remembered visiting Michael McGill's former school district 16 years ago and said that her visit to Winnetka last week was "equally as exciting." She congratulated the board "on the news and the care that it took to conduct a thorough search." She said, the "extent to which you included the community raised the level of the search" and called it a "wonderfully collaborative process."

The community is invited to a welcome reception for Dr. Hagerman on Wednesday, March 26th at 7:30 pm at the Scarsdale High School Commons at the Brewster Road entrance.

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 11 March 2014

Created: 11 March 2014

Last Updated: 12 March 2014

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The proposed Scarsdale school budget for 2014-15 has been released–- squeaking in just under the tax cap with a tax levy increase of 4.084% only .012% under the adjusted allowable levy of 4.096%. The proposed $148,321,876 budget represents a 3.07% increase over the 2013-14 budget of $143,899,713. The budget will mean a 3.93% tax increase for Scarsdale residents and a bump of 1.59% for those in the Mamaroneck strip.

The new budget maintains small class sizes, adding 8 teachers to the district staff – five at the elementary school level and three at the high school. Though elementary school enrollment is only expected to rise by 31 students, there are currently five sections over the maximum class size and the modest increase in the student population necessitates additional staff. Three of the new sections will be added at the Fox Meadow School. The budget limits class size in grades K-2 to 22 students with maximum class size of 24 students in grades 4 and 5. At the high school, the three additional teachers will be in the social studies, science and math departments – where, without these new hires, 15.7% of classes in those subjects would be above the maximum class size of 25 students. Though the in the past the budget has provided for two unassigned teachers to be placed when enrollments finalize during the summer months, there are no unassigned positions in this budget.

Much of the budget growth stems from mandated costs that are beyond the district's control. Of the $4.42mm increase, $956,721 is for an increases in the contribution to the teacher and employee's retirement budget and another $882,906 is for the district's self-insured health plan. Since the state ruled that the district had to liquidate the health insurance reserve, consultants recommended that the district increase this budget by 6.0% as a cushion against unexpected claims.

Another large mandated increase is $401,871 in the special education budget for contractual school services for payments to neighboring districts, BOCES and private and residential facilities for students who can benefit from out-of-district placements.

Not all the increases are due to benefits and special education. Residents will see improvements in facilities from the $815,000 addition to the budget for facilities. Here are the projects that will be funded in 2014-15:

Fox Meadow: new playground fence and an upgrade to the fire alarm system
Greenacres: Relocation of the office to improve school security and replacement of the condensate system for the boiler.
Heathcote: new fence at Innes Road and at the playground, exterior painting of the school
Quaker Ridge: Replacement of concrete pad beneath the oil tank
Middle School: Replacement of exterior stairway from Cooper House for safety reasons
High School: Renovation of two new science labs for Chemistry and Physics classes to accommodate student enrollment. Carpet replacement in eight classrooms and asbestos removal.

An additional $325,000 has been budgeted for district-wide roof repairs.

In addition to these new projects, the district will upgrade their technology infrastructure. On the list are:

The installation of wireless access to all five elementary school
Expansion of Chrome Books to the fourth grade
Expansion of mobile technology to sixth grade
Upgrade to technology equipment in the digital art classrooms at SHS

Several items that were under consideration for elimination were maintained in the budget. Security personnel at the high school and middle school and at Greenacres field on evenings and weekends will continue to be funded. Though the Teen Center had asked for a larger allocation, the budget includes a $65,000 contribution from the School Board to the center. The Center for Innovation, whose funding had been reduced to $25,000 in 2013-14 will see an increase to $50,000 in 2014-15.

The Board is now considering major upgrades to district facilities that will be funded through bonds, if approved by the community. Rather than pay for large-scale renovations through the operating budget and increase the tax rate, the Board will continue to fund these projects by issuing debt which spreads the cost of these projects over many years.

Board President Suzanne Seiden said that this budget would be adjusted over the next few weeks as better estimates of actual costs and surpluses from the 2013-14 become available. In addition, the Board may decide to lease three school buses rather that purchase two news buses that are included in the budget at a cost of $104,913 which could yield additional savings.

You can view the proposed budget here and watch video on demand of the budget presentation here.

The community will vote on the budget on Tuesday May 20 from 7 am to 9 pm at Scarsdale Middle School.

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Written by: Carly Glickenhaus

Published: 05 March 2014

Created: 05 March 2014

Last Updated: 06 March 2014

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Athletes, coaches, parents, and affiliates of the Maroon and White gathered at Scarsdale High School on Tuesday March 4 to honor winter athletes. The venue was changed from Lake Isle Country Club to the SHS cafeteria -- and though some were dubious about the new setting, others were grateful to enjoy cake and cookies instead of the infamous chicken parmesan dinner.

Before teams broke off into separate rooms to honor individual athletes, two distinguished athletes were honored. Junior track star Maggie OʼKeefe was named The Girls Raider of the Winter. She set the SHS Tripe Jump record early on and repeatedly broke it as the season progressed. OʼKeefeʼs record now stands at 36ʼ7." She placed 9th in New York State at the competition at Cornell University in Ithaca last week. Junior diver Evan Moretti was named Boys Raider of the Winter. He was undefeated in the regular season and was the major point contributor, helping Scarsdale win its fourth Division I title in the States. Moretti and fellow swim-mates raised $10,000 for breast cancer awareness this season.

The swim team was not the only squad to turn heads. Scarsdaleʼs attention has recently been drawn to the unprecedented success of the Raiders Hockey team. The team has become a formidable opponent for the first time in years. Coach Jim Mancuso describes his team as a "unique blend of unsound components that we have molded into a lean, mean hockey machine." The season started in early November. About 4 months have passed, and the ʻDers have only gotten stronger and stronger, working tirelessly on weekends, late weeknights, and even over break. They have only conceded three losses in the entire season, making this group the most successful in SHS history.

Beating Suffern 4-3 on February 23 made the 2014 pack the first Raider hockey team to win a Section I title. And they didnʼt stop there. Devoted parents drove to Shenendahowa School in Southern Saratoga Country, NY to film their playoff game during the week, so the Raiders could review the film before playing them. The Raiders likely knew that after this display of devotion, losing to Shenendahowa in the State Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 1 was not an option. So, they won! The Raiders will contend for a New York State Title at the Championship this Saturday, March 8 at 9:30am in the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The winner will play at 12:30PM the following day.

The roster includes 3 of the leading scorers in Section I; Matt Blakely, James Nicholas, and Devon Schell. Rob Burns, Blakely, Schell, and Nicholas were also named All-League; James Felix and Gabe Harousseau All-League Honorable Mention. Nicholas, the most highly decorated player, was also named Division I Player of the Year. Blakely, Felix, and Burns were chosen represent Scarsdale at the Division I Senior Game. These individual achievements cannot be ignored, but Mancuso says what truly makes the team special is "all the little things we do away from the puck." He means the plays that are so valuable but often go unnoticed: The exhausted defenderʼs full-sprint in the third period to keep up with his mark. The slightest flick of a stick that prevents a goal from being scored. The extra push as the forward races hungrily towards the net to score the tying goal. Those are the moments that make Raiders history. The NY State Ice Hockey Semi-Final game on Saturday between Scarsdale and Ithaca will be recorded by Dave Berry from the Scarsdale Schools. Should the Raiders advance to the finals on Sunday, that game will also be recorded. Check the Scarsdale school's website for playback times. Due to licensing restrictions, no live coverage is permitted and may not be posted on our Video-On-Demand system.

The JV cheerleading team started their season with a bang, winning 4th Place in the Eastchester competition in the fall. After, Coach Brianna Carolini says, the season took many unexpected turns. Several Varsity girls suffered injuries and top JV girls replaced them, leaving the rest of the JV team with too few members to compete. Carolini says the girls learned patience, trust and teamwork, and "how to do what seemed impossible."

The Gymnastics team, coached by Jennifer Roane and Liz Torres, also had to adapt when their home gym was re-purposed. Since the Class of 2017 is particularly large, one gym was designated the Freshman Cafeteria. Café 9 (the glamorous name that hardly fits this stuffy, grimy eating place) had been the Gymnastics team practice space and the site of several home meets. With no home gym, the seniors on the team were not honored at the traditional "Senior Meet." Even without a home gym to attract spectators, the girls showed tremendous school spirit. Under the leadership of Senior captains Emma Bernstein, Emma Durtzman, and Alexa Pappas, the Raiders were 2-5. Though the season was bumpy, the ʻDers still managed to finish with several titles. Laura Pollack ʼ17 received an All-League title; Daniel Esses ʼ14 and Kendall Bensche ʼ17 were awarded Honorable Mention. Teammates voted Nikki Solomon ʼ17 most improved and Pollack MVP. Cara Blumstein ʼ16, who placed 2nd in the Novice Sectional Meet, will co-captain the team next year with Amanda Shuster ʼ15.

Acknowledging individual awards is clearly important, but these teamsʼ abilities to cope with unexpected conditions and make the best of their season is what being a Raider is all about.

Contributor Carly Glickenhaus is a sophomore at SHS. She is a goalkeeper on the Raiders Varsity Soccer team, and also enjoys writing and photography.

Here are the stars of the evening:

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 26 February 2014

Created: 26 February 2014

Last Updated: 27 February 2014

Hits: 8196

Registration for incoming kindergarten students (for the 2014-2015 school year) will be held in all five of the Scarsdale elementary schools (Edgewood, Fox Meadow, Greenacres, Heathcote and Quaker Ridge) from Monday, March 3 to Friday, March 7. Students may be registered between 9 AM and 3 PM.

Children whose fifth birthday falls on or before December 31, 2014 may be registered. Documents needed include immunization records, proof of age such as birth certificate or passport, and proof of residency, along with the registration forms and instructions, which may be downloaded at http://www.scarsdaleschools.org/domain/55 (on the District Web site, click on the Parents dropdown menu, and then on "Student Registration" ), or obtained at the school.

Proof of residency can be either in the form of a copy of the deed for a house, or a signed rental agreement (lease), plus a utility bill. Please be aware that some homes in this area have a Scarsdale mailing address, but are not within the Scarsdale School District. If there is any doubt, you may contact the District office for verification: 914-721-2444. Enrollment in one of our five elementary schools is determined by the neighborhood in which you live.

If you have any questions concerning registration, please call your neighborhood elementary school.