Laurence Spring is appointed SCSD Superintendent Wed.
He will take post in early June

The Schenectady City School District Board of Education appointed Laurence Spring as Superintendent of Schools at the Board of Education meeting held Wednesday, February 15, 2012.  Prior to the Board meeting, a press conference was held at Zoller Elementary School.

Spring, who has been serving as Superintendent of Cortland Enlarged School District for the last six years, is expected to take the leadership post in early June and will earn $181,200.  He will replace John Yagielski who has been serving as interim superintendent since July 1, 2010.  Yagielski came out of retirement to serve in the leadership role while the district searched for a permanent superintendent.  

“I am very excited and pleased to be coming to Schenectady,” said Spring.  “I’m anxious to get started.  John has done a great job.  I’m excited to continue with what he has done.  And, there is still a lot of work to be done with all the changes from the state level.” 

Spring was introduced to the school community on January 23 when he was selected as one of three finalists.  During his presentation, he shared his experiences dealing with families in poverty and the impact that poverty has on education.   The level of poverty in Cortland is similar to that of Schenectady.

Spring said he is an advocate for the disadvantaged and those living in poverty.  “I have a lot of experience using systems and data to find inequities and will work to change the system,” he said.

“On behalf of the board of education,” I am pleased and excited to welcome Larry to our school and community,” said Cathy Lewis, president of the board of education.  “We are confident that he will come in, hit the ground running and continue to move our district forward.” 

Spring will be coming to a much larger district than where he currently is in Cortland which has an enrollment of about 2,800.  Schenectady has about 9,800 students.  He said he is ready.  

He is also ready to embrace and partner with the community.  “I am really excited to move to Schenectady and live in a mid-size city again,” said Spring who once lived in Rochester.  “I very much enjoy living in the city and the things that go along with that.  I’m looking forward to becoming a part of the community there.”  Spring and his wife have two children who they plan to enroll in Schenectady schools.   

“I am here to work for our community and their children,” added Spring.  “It is important that the children of our community get the education that they need and deserve.” 

Lewis expressed gratitude to the school community for being part of the process.  "The superintendent selection was a long process," she said.  "We, the board of education, would like to thank all of the school and community members who came to the community input sessions and participated in the interview process.  Your participation and input was very important to this process."

The search for a superintendent, initiated several months ago, was conducted by Capital Region BOCES.   Before applicants were screened and interviewed, the board of education held school and community sessions in October and November to learn what was leadership qualities were important to the school community.   

The board of education reviewed 17 applications that were screened and selected by BOCES from a larger pool.  They then narrowed the pool of candidates down to nine and then five.

Three separate stakeholder groups comprised of parents, community members, staff members as well as city, county and community organization members held interviews with the five candidates.   Each stakeholder group shared there impressions of the candidates with the board of education at a special meeting.  

Spring, Susan Swartz and Ivan Katz were the three finalists.  Swartz later withdrew her application. 

“We are very happy with our selection and are anxious to move forward,” said Lewis.
 
“This is an exciting time for all of us in the school district and the Schenectady community.” 

Laurence Spring
Prior to becoming a superintendent in Cortland, Spring served as Assistant Superintendent for Instruction at Wayne Central School District in Ontario, NY for five years (2001-06).  His administrative experience prior to becoming Superintendent includes serving as Director of Student Learning at Churchville-Chili Central School District in Churchville, NY for two years (1999-2001) and Assistant Principal for a year (1998-99). 

He began his educational career as a social studies teacher.    He taught at East Irondequoit Central School District for five years.   Spring obtained a BA in History/Psychology from SUNY Geneseo, MS in Educational Leadership from the University of Rochester and is expected to complete an Ed.D in 2012 from Vanderbilt University.

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 Related:  Superintendent Search Process and Updates

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