Bedford's New Schools Superintendent Executing Entry Plan

BEDFORD, NY — Before he became an educator, Robert Glass pursued a career in telecommunications, which is clear just looking at the website of the Bedford Central school district, which he began heading up on July 1.

On the superintendent's office page, Glass not only provides his biography, but also offers links to his contract, his CV, his PhD dissertation and an "entry plan."

The idea of an entry plan makes sense for Glass. In February when he was hired away from Eastchester by the Bedford trustees, Board of Education Vice President Ed Reder said they had been looking for a leader with a strong track record of developing a vision and unifying all stakeholders in strategic planning.

In the introduction to the plan, Glass wrote, "With deep respect for Bedford Central School District’s storied reputation for educational innovation and leadership, a large part of my role as incoming superintendent is to build a foundation for success rooted in a deep, systematic, emergent understanding of the district’s strengths and challenges. Such an approach stands in stark contrast to the presumptuous practice of retrofitting past solutions to the present context."

"I think one of the mistakes a new leader can make is coming in assuming they know too much," Glass told Patch on Tuesday.

Among the plan's goals: engage the entire educational community, begin to build relationships with stakeholders, and pick up as much as possible about the district's past, current conditions, and aspirations.

Glass began on the plan before he formally started work in Bedford, kicking off a half-year of personal or focus group meetings and interviews.

Those will continue once the school year starts, with families, faculty, students, staff and community leaders. You can check out the objectives, activities and interview questions in the plan.

Following the plan's timeline, Glass is administering a survey this summer that contains just one question: "As Bedford’s new superintendent, what are the most important things I need to know to support you and make this a successful year?"

He's using a unique survey tool called ThoughtExchange in which people can read and rank the comments others write, basically crowdsourcing ideas and themes that resonate. So far about 1,000 people have participated, he said. Right now the top idea is an educational experience that fits the child. Communication is also at the top.

He's going to review all the data he collects with the Board of Education at the Oct. 12 meeting and offer a comprehensive analysis by the end of the year.

He said so in the plan: "By early December of 2022, I will present to the Board of Education and the Community a report that highlights the themes synthesized through months of gathering cross-constituent views. My hope is that this inquiry-based report focuses on maintaining what the district cherishes most, while at the same time highlighting agreed-upon areas where growth-potential exists ... These findings will help guide the initial work of the administrative team, but will importantly be cross-referenced with actions already underway through the district Success Plan so that it can inform any future strategic work that may be contemplated by the district."