Clarkstown Assistant Schools Superintendent Named Superintendent at Upstate School District

Deborah Leh, assistant superintendent for instruction in the Clarkstown school district, has been named superintendent of a small upstate school district.

Clarkstown Superintendent Margaret Keller-Cogan announced Tuesday night that Leh would be leaving her post in July to take the top spot at the 800-student Wheatland-Chili Central School District in the suburbs of Rochester.

Leh said she is looking forward to her new role and that she had been specifically looking for leadership opportunities at a small school district, where should would be able to develop close personal connections with staff, students, parents and the community. In contrast, the Clarkstown district is among some of the largest suburban districts in the state with 9,000 students.

Leh supervises the operations of the Clarkstown elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, as well as the district's Program Evaluation Office.

Leh graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Education and a major in accounting. She launched her career as a business teacher in a small district north of Pittsburgh, where she grew up.

At Nazareth College, she taught in the Community Education and Business Management program. Also at Nazareth College, she earned a Master's Degree in Education and then went to SUNY Brockport to cearn a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Educational Administration. Leh completed her doctoral work in Educational Leadership at the University of Rochester.