Asst. super. talks plans
Silvernell eyes top job in school district
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » One of the finalists being interviewed for the Saratoga Springs City School District superintendent position is already very familiar with the district.
Saratoga Springs Assistant Superintendent Douglas Silvernell spoke with the school board Wednesday about himself, and — if he is named superintendent — his tentative plans for the district.
The other two candidates are West Irondequoit Central School District Deputy Superintendent Timothy Terranova and South Glens Falls Central School District Superintendent Michael Patton. Terranova gave a presentation Tuesday night, while Patton will make his presentation Oct. 3.
Silvernell, who has been an educator for 23 years, has held multiple roles, including middle school principal, district educational technologist and social studies teacher.
He began his presentation explaining that since the district is so strong, he feels right now the district is standing on the shoulders of giants, so it can reach for the stars.
He also told a story from his childhood, centered on his parents divorce when he was 4. His mother raised two children in poverty living in trailer parks or government housing and often homeless, he said.
“That didn’t define who I was, but it did help make me who I am,” said Silvernell. “It’s one of the reasons why I became an educator.”
“I have a soft spot for the underdog. I fight for the underdog, and I fight for all children,” said Silvernell. “When I speak about all children, I could have easily been one of those children who fell through the cracks with the number of experiences I had as a child but I attributed the fact that I didn’t to two things: educators who cared about me in my public school system, and a mom who was willing to take any help that people were willing to give.”
Silvernell, like Terranova, explained his pre-entry and entry plans if selected as the school district’s new superintendent. He labeled the pre-entry process as “Look & Listen.” His entry plan would have two phases, the first one called Learn, while the second being called “Link & Launch.”
“I have a soft spot for the underdog. I fight for the underdog, and I fight for all children.” — Saratoga Springs Assistant Superintendent Douglas Silvernell
“Look & Listen’s” objectives would consist of reviewing the Legacy Planning documentation and developing a series of forums to gather information about the strengths and challenges facing the district, outlining strengths and weaknesses with staff and developing a structure for gathering information and feedback from constituents when making decisions about initiatives.
“Learn’s” objectives would consist of enhancing the communication plan for the district, reviewing major district initiatives and look for ways to maximize efficiency while reducing duplicated efforts and developing a plan to improve cultural proficiency through the community. “Link & Launch’s” objectives would consist of refining and enhancing the system to foster collaborative decision-making, developing a decision-making structure that engages stakeholders throughout the system, assigning responsibilities for the major initiatives and refining the hiring plan to include other avenues of hiring beyond the selection process.
The evening ended with Silvernell taking questions from audience members.
James Dexter, superintendent of Warren-Saratoga-Washington-Hamilton-Essex BOCES and the district’s lead consultant for the search, explained how 22 candidates applied to the position.
The Board of Education used surveys filled out by community members to develop a set of desired skills and characteristics of the candidates to narrow the list down to eight. After the board conducted initial interviews, the field was trimmed to four semifinalists. Last week, two separate committees made up of administrators, teachers, parents, community members and students ran their own interviews, which was then reported directly back to the school board, which then narrowed the field down to the final three candidates.
The school board began its search in May, four months after Michael Piccirillo announced his plan to retire Dec. 31. Piccirillo’s 2016 salary was $183,713.