Scarsdale Board of Ed Extends Contract with Superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman

The Scarsdale Board of Education this week extended the contract with Superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman through the 2017-18 school year, the board announced.

Officials said the extension is based upon “his highly effective performance over the past school year.” Hagerman, who had previously served as Superintendent for the nationally renowned Winnetka School District 36 on Chicago’s north shore, came to Scarsdale last summer after the Board conducted an extensive national search for a new superintendent.

“Scarsdale is very fortunate to have Dr. Hagerman at the helm of our community’s most important asset,” said Board President Mary Beth Gose in a statement. “The Board unanimously decided to offer Dr. Hagerman a contract extension and hopes that the success achieved by Dr. Hagerman will continue as we work together over the coming years to preserve and enhance the quality and breadth of the educational experience for our children.”

As part of its duties, the Board of Education recently engaged in a comprehensive review process to evaluate Dr. Hagerman’s performance during his first year as Superintendent. This process resulted in the conclusion that, especially given the unique challenges of a transition to a new administration, Dr. Hagerman was a highly effective Superintendent, leading the District through a successful 2014-15 school year.

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“As part of my formal evaluation process, I had the opportunity to reflect deeply on the challenges and successes of the year. It is heartening that there have been more of the latter then the former, putting us on a positive trajectory moving forward,” said Hagerman. “I am also pleased that, embedded in much of this year’s progress, there has been a real coalescing of community, Board, parent, faculty and student interests and needs. This year has proved to be a testament of why I came to Scarsdale: people are clearly passionate about this place, and are committed to the ongoing success of all of our students.”

Hagerman’s success was evidenced by, among other things, the implementation of an ambitious entry plan through which he engaged with numerous school and community representatives and groups through hundreds of meetings and discussion groups, the development and passing of the 2015-16 school budget by a substantial majority, the successful development and passing of a facilities bond for essential school construction related to the provision of 21st century education, the recruitment of outstanding individuals to replace key departing administrators and principals, the reorganization of Board meetings to be more efficient and accessible to the public, and a thoughtful reorganization of the District’s central administrative office functions to capitalize on strengths, clarify roles and responsibilities and balance workload.

Photo: Dr. Thomas Hagerman. Photo credit: Contributed