Former Greece Central School District Superintendent Barbara Deane-Williams was appointed as the new Rochester City School District Superintendent Monday afternoon.
Williams said it was an unanticipated choice, when she received a call about the position in late June. She had committed to another year working as Deputy Superintendent with Boston Public Schools, but the opportunity to come back and work with Rochester was one she could not pass up.
She said she is looking forward to being back in Rochester and building new, as well as revisiting old relationships in the community.
"I think what I’m looking forward to doing is reconnecting relationships, and to build new relationships in Rochester. I’ve lived here for most of my life and look forward to continuing the partnerships that have already been established, and building new ones."
Williams says she has two priorities starting her new position, which officially begins August 8th. The first is to ensure that schools are ready for children and staff by September, and the second is what she referred to as a 100 day listening and learning tour.
"I’ll be looking for assistance in getting access to people that can give me a deep understanding that includes perspectives from students, families, residents, employees, and our governance partners to really understand over the first 100 days."
Williams says while Rochester has many bright spots, there are certainly challenges, and she hopes that by understanding the past, she can work to build a better future for students in the city.
The contract was signed at a special board of education meeting, after a period of uncertainty that left the position open for quite a few months.
The search for a new superintendent has been closed to the public, after the Rochester Board of Education was unable to agree over contract terms with Ithaca Superintendent Luvelle Brown.
In the past, the board has consistently conducted open searches with community meetings and citizen interviews, ending with a board vote. But Board President Van White said they needed to try a new approach.
"This board of education decided that what we were going to do is we're not going to do what we always did. We're going to try something a little different. We were going to have the people legally responsible to make the decision interview the candidates, present those candidates to us, and then make a decision."
The board plans to have more meetings with the superintendent, which White referred to as "retreats," in order to proactively check in and discuss issues in the district such as receivership, closing achievement gaps, and laying out specific objectives.
White says Williams' experience in Boston, a district twice the size of the Rochester's and a very diverse one as well, was very important in their decision.