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Transition to Superintendency Program (TSP)

FACULTY        Program faculty subject to change based on availability

Rick P. Amundson, Superintendent, Lyons Central Schools

Rick Amundson has been the Superintendent of Lyons Central School District in Wayne County, New York since July 2005. Prior to entering the superintendency he had 18 years of administrative experience includes district level positions in the Webster Central Schools, Mamaroneck Union Free Schools, and the Churchville-Chili Central Schools.  Rick is a 2004 graduate of the Superintendent Development Program; working with mentors Dr. Glenn Wachter, Timothy McElheran, and Dr. Robert Christmann.  Recently, he has been a presenter at the New York State Council of Schools Superintendents conference and New York State School Boards statewide conference.  Professionally Rick has been active as an adjunct professor at SUNY Brockport, and as Past President of both Section V Athletics and the New York State Association of Health and Physical Education (NYSAHPE).

Martin Brooks, Ed.D., Superintendent, Kings Park Central Schools

Marty Brooks is Superintendent in Kings Park Central Schools.  Previously, he served as Superintendent in Plainview-Old Bethpage Central Schools, Valley Stream Central High School District, and Valley Stream District Thirteen, and Assistant Superintendent and Principal in Shoreham-Wading River School District.  He is past president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents, and currently serves on the boards of the Long Island Children's Museum, the Metropolitan School Study Council and Public Schools for Tomorrow.  Dr. Brooks  served for three years as co-chair of the Tri-States Consortium steering committee, and is presently a member of the National Superintendents Roundtable.  He is co-author of In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms, one of ASCD's all-time best selling books, and numerous other articles and monographs.  Dr. Brooks has presented at local, state, national and international conferences on school leadership, change and constructivism.  He earned his doctoral degree in administration at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Robert W. Christmann, Superintendent, Grand Island Central Schools

Bob Christmann has been Superintendent of Schools for the Grand Island Central Schools since March 2007.  Grand Island CSD is a suburban district north of Buffalo, New York that serves more than 3400 students.  Mr. Christmann was previously Superintendent of the Newark Central Schools ( east of Rochester, New York) for 17 years.  Newark Central Schools was one of the first school districts in New York to base teacher and administration salary increases on individual performance.  Bob is currently in his third year as a member of the The Council (NYSCOSS) Executive Committee.  He has served as President of the Wayne County Superintendents Association, and Vice President of the Wayne Finger Lakes Association.  Other service includes six years as a member of the NYSCOSS House of Delegates.  Mr. Christmann is a six time NYSSBA Annual Conference presenter.  Bob will be conducting a workshop on Board-Superintendent Roles and Responsibilities at the September 2007 statewide new school board member conference.  He was recently recognized as the national winner of the American School Boards Magna Award for advancing student learning through school board best practices. 

Jeanne Dangle, Superintendent, Baldwinsville Central Schools

Jeanne Dangle has served as the Superintendent of Schools of the Baldwinsville Central School District since 2003.  She had previously served as an elementary teacher, principal of the Samuel G. Love Elementary School in the Jamestown City School District, Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services at the Monroe 2 BOCES, and Superintendent of Schools of the Avon Central School District.  In each of these positions, her work on behalf of instructional excellence and increased student achievement has been recognized by her colleagues, and by state and national service organizations.  Most recently, she was elected vice-chair of the OCM BOCES Superintendents’ Council.  Jeanne is a proud graduate of Portville High School, Lock Haven State University, and St. Bonaventure University, where she completed her undergraduate, graduate education and administrative graduate program respectively.  Jeanne believes that school superintendents are uniquely situated to provide the vision and the leadership to ensure that each of our students is prepared for citizenship in a rapidly changing world.  She is honored to serve on the faculty of the Transition to Superintendency Program.

Ronald DeCarli, Superintendent, Frontier Central Schools

Ron DeCarli has been Superintendent of Schools for the Frontier Central School District since March 2007.  He spent 14 years teaching and coaching High/Middle schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey Public Schools.  His journey to the Superintendency has been non traditional. His career path took him into coaching Division 1 basketball at St. Bonaventure University.  After eight years, he reentered the education field as school principal for eight years in Pennsylvania and New York.  He was then Superintendent of Schools for the Hinsdale Central Schools and Akron Central Schools, New York.  Ron is a motivational speaker for leaders in private and school sectors along with doing school assembly programs for students.  He is actively involved in the China partnership program, hosting administrators and education officials from the Chinese School Districts of Changchun, Nanning, and Tianjin.  Mr. DeCarli stays active in current  professional development as Past President of the WNY Educational Service Council, faculty member for the Superintendent Development Program, and Section 6 athletics as the Superintendent Representative for the Erie County Interscholastic Conference.

Terrance P. Dougherty, Superintendent, Hancock Central Schools

Terry Dougherty has been Superintendent of Schools since July 2002 of the Hancock Central School District, Hancock, New York.  Prior to Hancock he was High School Principal at Groton High School in Groton, New York.  Dr. Dougherty has been very successful in moving the students of a small, rural school district to a high level of academic achievement.  He has administered numerous changes in fiscal operations, facilities construction, labor relations, and technology.  He enjoys strong community support.  Terry was a member of the Syracuse University Football Team (full Scholarship) and played in the Sugar Bowl and Hall of Fame Bowl.

Gerard W. Dempsey, Superintendent, Plainview-Old Bethpage Central Schools

Jerry Dempsey. is currently Interim Superintendent of Schools for the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Schools. He previously served for 11 years as Superintendent in the Farmingdale Public Schools.  During this time he also served as the president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents and participated in a number of state-wide committees.  Mr. Dempsey began his teaching career in New York City.  He has worked in a number of Long Island school districts including Huntington, Plainedge, Northport and Hicksville during his 40 years in public education.   He was the first director of the Long Island School Leadership Center, a group devoted to the development and support of school leaders.  It was during this time that Mr. Dempsey expanded his interest in the social and emotional skills required of school leaders.  When Mr. Dempsey was working at Western Suffolk BOCES, together with colleagues, they formed the Long Island Social and Emotional Literacy Forum, a group devoted to expanding the skills of educators in this essential area.  During his years as a superintendent, Mr. Dempsey also offered many presentations and workshops for groups such as the Long Island Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, the American Association of School Administrators and the Wallace Foundation.  He also has an extensive interest in career education and participated as a board member of the Long Island Works Coalition.

Charles W. Fowler, Ed.D., President, School Leadership, LLC

Chuck Fowler, President of School Leadership, LLC, retired as Superintendent of Schools in Hewlett, New York in 2004.  Prior to assuming his position in Hewlett, Dr. Fowler served as District Superintendent for Nassau County, the largest supervisory district in New York State. He also held the Superintendent’s position in Sarasota County, Florida (1985-1995), Fairfield, Connecticut (1976-1985) and DeKalb, Illinois (1969-1976). School Leadership, LLC, founded by Dr. Fowler in 2004, has completed more than thirty superintendent searches in New York and New Jersey.  He holds Bachelor and Master's degrees from the University at Albany and a Doctorate from Columbia University.  He served as a superintendent of schools for thirty-five years.  Dr. Fowler has been the recipient of many honors from national and international scholarly and service organizations. In 1989, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop for his work in support of school children with AIDS.  Dr. Fowler is an Adjunct Professor of School Organization and Leadership at Columbia University and recently received the Outstanding Educator Award of the Alumni Association of the University at Albany.  He is the author of more than 55 books, monographs and articles published in journals and the national press, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Michelle Kavanaugh, Ed.D., Superintendent, Honeoye Falls-Lima Central Schools

Michelle Kavanaugh has been Superintendent of the Honeoye Falls-Lima Central School District (HF-L) since 2006.  Since her arrival as superintendent, Newsweek Magazine has consistently ranked HF-L in the top 2% of schools in the nation, and U.S. News & World Report recognized HF-L as a Silver Medal School.  HF-L was one of 10 New York State high schools recognized by the National Center for Achievement as a high performing school in the "Just for the Kids" Project.  Among a number of other awards was the prestigious Magna Award in 2009 for leadership in diversity efforts.  Prior to HF-L Dr. Kavanaugh was Superintendent of Schools in the Plattsburgh Central School District for four years, 2002 to 2006.  Michelle has spent her entire career in New York.  Previously she worked as Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Assessment in Lockport, N.Y., and Director of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction in Lancaster, N.Y.  She spent seven years as an elementary school principal in the Sweet Home Central School District. She holds a doctorate from SUNY Buffalo and has taught graduate students as an adjunct at SUNY College at Buffalo.  Michelle was a faculty member in the Superintendent Development Program and has mentored several administrators who were subsequently successful in obtaining positions as superintendents of schools. 

Timothy McElheran, Superintendent, Victor Central Schools

Tim McElheran is retired Superintendent of the Victor Central School District, 1998 to 2009.  As Superintendent, he counts among his accomplishments at Victor the successful implementation of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and the nationally recognized pre-engineering program Project Lead The Way.  He implemented a School of the Arts for Victor students.  In addition to eight years of successful classroom teaching experience, Tim’s resume’ includes positions as Assistant to the Superintendent in the Webster Central School District, and nine years as Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and three years as Interim Superintendent of the Fairport Central School District.  For three years Tim was a faculty member in the Superintendent Development Program and has mentored several administrators who were subsequently successful in obtaining positions as superintendents of schools.  Tim also served as an adjunct professor for SUNY Brockport, instructing graduate students in Advanced Personnel Management.  The New York State Association of Women Administrators (NYSAWA) recognized Tim’s vision and ability to bring about change with the prestigious Linda Tinelli Shieve Award in 2005.

James M. Merrins, Ed.D., Executive Program Administrator, Educational Support Services

See below.

James Mills, Ph.D., Superintendent (retired),
     Supervisor of Educational Leadership, Niagara University

Jim Mills has developed a profoundly practical body of knowledge about the skills necessary to be a successful school leader and has shared his insights, wisdom, and political thoughts with audiences of school leaders throughout the state. He is a dynamic, authoritative, provocative and animated presenter on issues that school leaders must confront as part of their leadership challenge. Since 1997 he has presented in the statewide series on Fiscal Navigation for Superintendents, providing long-range strategies on revenue driven budget development and guidance on fund balance management. His workshop "Everything is Negotiable," and two day simulation "At the Table Negotiating Skills" have drawn acclaim as the best, most worthwhile professional workshops ever attended. Dr. Mills is recently retired superintendent of the Newfane Central School District. He was a superintendent for eighteen years. Prior to being a superintendent he was a negotiator for seventeen school boards and is still engaged in private practice as professional negotiator. Jim did doctoral work at SUNY Buffalo in Education, Administration and Policy. He is currently an adjunct professor at Niagara University where he teaches advanced graduate level courses for post-masters students. Dr. Mills is a Past President of the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS).

Wayne A. Vander Byl, Esq., School Attorney

Wayne Vander Byl has been advising and representing New York State school districts in the full range of school legal matters since 1979.  He is a member and past president of the New York State Association of School Attorneys and a member and former chair of the School Attorneys Committee of the Monroe County Bar Association.  He has been the program chair and frequent presenter at law conferences sponsored by both organizations.  Mr. Vander Byl was an adjunct instructor of Education Law for SUNY College at Brockport for many years.  He is known for the clarity of his presentations and the practicality of his advice and recommendations.

Peggy J. Wozniak, Ed.D., Superintendent, Binghamton City Schools

Peggy Wozniak has been the superintendent of the Binghamton City Schools since 2002. Binghamton School District is an urban district with a diverse population that serves more than 6,000 students.  She was previously superintendent of the Mammoth Lakes Unified School District in California for five years.  In 2000 she was named the Superintendent of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators.  Peggy has been an educator for 34 years, 22 years as a school administrator including 10 years as a superintendent.  She previously served on the faculty of the California School Boards Association and assisted in the development of the Masters in Governance Program. Peggy trained school board members and superintendents throughout California on the "Role of the Governance Team in Setting the Direction for the School District."  She has also presented on this topic at annual California School Boards Association Conferences.  Recent speaking engagements include a presentation on a "Quality Professional Development Plan for Student Achievement" at the 2^nd International Forum on Teacher Education in Shanghai, China and "The International Baccalaureate Program in Urban Schools" at the annual Guild of IB Schools of the Northeast in New York City.  Peggy is a member of the Southern Tier Leadership Academy whose mission is to develop educational leaders for the future.  Peggy is also active in urban affairs, and serves as vice-chairperson of the Broome County Urban League.

ADMINISTRATION

James M. Merrins, Ed.D., Executive Program Administrator
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Jim Merrins is Executive Program Administrator of the Educational Leadership Institute, SUNY Oswego, School of Education.  He administers the statewide Transition to Superintendency Program and School Fiscal Training and Support Program (since 2004, in four regions).  Jim administers numerous workshops for superintendents and senior school administrators across New York State.  Jim has over 36 years experience in school administration, 16 years as a Superintendent of Schools in Fredonia and Honeoye, New York.  Dr. Merrins is also NYS certified as a School Business Administrator.  To help superintendents and senior school administrators across New York State, he developed and manages the web site www.SuperintendentOfSchools.com with the popular resource centers - Preparing for the Superintendency Toolbox, The New Superintendent's Toolbox, and The Superintendent’s File Cabinet.  Dr. Merrins taught school finance and school law as an adjunct at SUNY colleges (Brockport, Fredonia, and Oswego) for several years.

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