Outgoing Birchwood Principal Honored at Graduation Ceremony

Wednesday night was not just the end of an era for the 16 graduates of Birchwood School. It was also the end of an era for the school as a whole.

Art Jakubowitz, the only principal the school has ever known, is retiring after 27 years at the helm of Birchwood. The graduation thus served not only as a tribute to the graduates, but to the man who helped bring them to this point in their lives.

“I’m going to miss a lot of what I do, but I’m also looking forward to a little bit of a more relaxed lifestyle,” Jakubowitz said of his retirement. “So it’s mixed emotions. I’m happy about retiring, but I’m going to miss parts of my job.”

He specifically noted that he was going to miss “the interaction with the students and the faculty” most of all.

Jakubowitz started his education career as a mathematics teacher but after getting laid off  in 1975, he changed to special education. He moved up to becoming principal of the French Hill School in Westchester, which served students with emotional and learning issues. When he heard about the opening  in Rockland County, he jumped at the opportunity.

“It was probably the best decision I ever made,” he said of his choice to come to Birchwood.

Students created decorations inside and outside the auditorium to honor Jakubowitz. A poem strung along the front of the auditorium stage read:

“Now that you’re really on your way,

We wish you happiness Mr. J.

For a life you’ll enjoy so very much,

A life full of leisure, travel, and such.

Good health in retirement, that is the key,

Then you’ll have it all hopefully.

So long Mr. J., Birchwood won’t be the same,

 Please know that forever, we’ll remember your name.”

Outside the auditorium, a large acrostic poem also provided adjectives the students came up with to describe their departing principal. These included “radical,”, “kind-hearted,” and “incredible principal.”

Clarkstown Superintendent of Schools Dr. Margaret Keller-Cogan used some adjectives of her own to describe him.

“Art Jakubowitz was an iconic figure in special education,” she said before the ceremony. “He is one of the most patient, kind, knowledgeable, talented leaders that we could find. … You can’t say he is irreplaceable because we have a replacement, but he is singularly responsible for the quality of the Birchwood program for nearly three decades.”

Jakubowitz’s successor is no stranger to the school himself. Jon Slaybaugh has been with the district for 25 years, working in the past at New City Elementary and Felix Festa Middle schools. He has worked in some capacity with Birchwood for the last 20 years, first during the summer and then full-time for the last five years. For the past two years he has served as a crisis teacher, which is similar to a guidance counselor.

Slaybaugh has known Jakubowitz for decades, and in fact the retiring principal encouraged Slaybaugh to apply for the position.

“He’s a very kind, compassionate, and bright individual, and I just said he would be the perfect replacement,” Jakubowitz said of Slaybaugh.

Slaybaugh graduated from Clark University with a degree in Psychology and also obtained a Master’s in Special Education from Long Island University. However, he did not yet have an administration certificate. So he has spent the last year studying at SUNY-New Paltz to get the certificate. He finishes his last class next week.

“I’m hoping to carry on the legacy that Mr. Jakubowitz left for us,” Slaybaugh said before the ceremony. “He’s done a fantastic job, and my job would be to carry on his work and try to move forward with the new demands for the state.”

Jakubowitz, during his speech at the end of the ceremony, was humble about his accomplishments.

 “Our whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and I seem to get a lot of credit for it, but it’s really all of us participating,” he said.

Keller-Cogan spoke during the ceremony as well, and she used the bulk of her speech to praise Jakubowitz and point out that the event was not only a tribute to the graduates, but also to him.

“And I leave you with one thought: When the times of your life are not as good as you wish they were, and you’re looking for guidance, and how to manage your way out, and how to find what hope and inspiration you need, and right words and right decisions, simply think out and ask yourself, ‘What would Mr. Jakubowitz have done'?”

The end of the graduation ceremony turned into a tribute for Jakubowitz. He received two plaques, one of which will hang in the halls of the school. Rockland County Legislator Gerold Bierker, a former teacher and principal in the Clarkstown School District, also gave Jakubowitz a Distinguished Service Award signed by Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell.

A pipe band then surprised Jakubowitz and serenaded the crowd with several songs, including “God Bless America.” One of the members of the band is a father of a Birchwood student, and  helped plan the performance.

Now that Jakubowitz is retired, he plans on doing some traveling and spending time with his newborn grandchild. He also hopes to train for a marathon and perhaps serve as a consultant for other local school districts.

“In our program [the students] just get so much support; they feel so good about being in this school,”  he said. “I think we’ve turned a lot of lives around, so that’s what I’m most proud of.”