New Superintendent At Northport-East Northport School District Appointed

NORTHPORT, NY — Dave Moyer was appointed new superintendent of the Northport-East Northport School District on Wednesday, effective Jan. 2, 2024, the district announced.

Moyer has been serving as the superintendent of the Arlington Central School District in LaGrangeville, NY, for the past two years. This current school year marks his 26th year as a public school administrator, including 14 as a superintendent.

During his time at Arlington, the district was named to the 2023 AP Honor Roll and developed its "Portrait of a Graduate" as part of Moyer’s major community engagement effort, Arlington Connect.

Arlington High School also joins the Northport-East Northport High School as a Special Olympics National Banner Unified Champion School. Recently, Moyer was recognized by the Poughkeepsie-Arlington Rotary Club for his commitment to the education of the community’s children.

Before coming to New York, Moyer served as a superintendent in Illinois and Wisconsin, most recently in Elmhurst, IL, from 2015 through 2021. Moyer was named an Illinois Superintendent of Distinction in 2015. Elmhurst was recognized by the Illinois Association of Curriculum Supervision and Instruction as the top district in the State for Whole Child Education in 2019.

Moyer is committed to the principles of whole-child education with an emphasis on equity and personalized learning, according to the school district. He frames his leadership style as inclusive and said he will engage stakeholders throughout the Northport-East Northport school community in making decisions that support better outcomes for all students.

"Whether it is through my background as a coach or in performing ensembles as a percussionist, I have viewed my leadership roles through the lens of how to effectively build teams and get people to work together toward a common purpose," Moyer said. "Based on what I have learned, the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District is committed to providing the absolute best opportunities possible for students. I commend that and look forward to being a part of a community that values placing students at the center of all decisions. I believe that the board of education is committed to looking into the future to identify where it wants the district to be in the next five years and beyond. I look forward to being a part of a district that is genuinely interested in building a system that both cares for the present and also understands the need to enable the future for our most precious commodity — our children."

Following Superintendent Robert Banzer’s retirement announcement, the Northport-East Northport Board of Education hired International Deliverables Inc. to find his successor.

The board and consultants hosted focus groups with various stakeholders as well as distributing a community survey to develop a candidate profile before conducting a thorough nationwide search.

Moyer was chosen from a "strong pool of candidates" after a long, competitive interview process.

Before his work as a superintendent, Moyer held administrative roles as an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal and athletic director. He earned a doctorate in educational administration from Northern Illinois University (NIU) in 2004 and holds master’s degrees in educational administration from NIU and sports administration from Eastern Kentucky University. An English major, he completed a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Wisconsin.

Board President Dr. Larry Licopoli acknowledged Banzer's work.

"We are thankful for Mr. Banzer’s leadership over the past eight years and his passion for the community will surely be missed," Licopoli said.

Licopoli also recognized Moyer’s passion and skill for leading initiatives that help all students be successful.

"I am confident that Dr. Moyer will embrace our community and continue to focus on our district mission to ‘Educate, inspire and empower all students to pursue their aspirations and contribute as responsible members of society,'" Licopoli said.

The board also recognized the efforts of the district’s search consultants Teresa Lawrence and Tom Ramming of International Deliverables LLC., who drew praise from stakeholder groups for their methods in gathering community input that helped to inform the search and selection process.

Moyer and his wife have five adult children and are looking forward to joining the Northport-East Northport community with their dog, Juliet, as residents in the coming months.

The community will soon have opportunities to meet and hear from Moyer, the district said.