Scarsdale 10583

Edgemont is abuzz with speculation about succession plans for the district pending the resignation of Assistant Principal Christ Monseliu in December, 2011 and the retirement of EHS Principal Barry Friedman in the summer of next year. Who will take the reigns at the school and is a restructuring in the cards? Ms. Monseliu is one of three assistant principals at the high school and works with colleagues Michael Curtin and Devan Ganeshananthan. The odds have always been on Ms. Monseliu replacing Friedman as principal, but now that she is relocating to Florida, many parents in the community are wondering if Mr. Curtin or Mr. Ganeshananthan will be chosen to replace him.

Last spring, Superintendent Nancy Taddiken indicated that the school may have only two assistant principals in the future, as a cost-savings measure. At the March 16, 2011 Board Meeting, Taddiken explained that there are currently ten district administrators. Since every District must have a superintendent, building principal in each building, a director of facilities and a director of special services the only room for an administrative structural change lies with the assistant principals at the Junior-Senior High School. Taddiken said, "My recommendation is for the Board to allow me with help from Barry Friedman, the assistant principals, and other administrators to look at a potential reduction; we will look to save about $65,000.”

We asked parents what they thought and many felt that it would be better to hire someone from within the district who is already familiar with the school, staff and students, and understands the culture of the school. Others disagree and say they would like to see some new blood at the school. One parent had a completely different idea and wondered if Dr. Kennedy, the longtime principal of Seely Place, would be moved to the high school to serve as principal. Her reasoning was: "They brought Dr. Friedman over from Greenville, so I figured, it was Seely's turn."

Parents may get an answer soon because even though the district will have almost a year to find a replacement for Dr. Friedman, Ms. Taddiken said that she will present her proposal for the leadership succession at the October 11th Board meeting. The public part of the meeting commences at 8:15 pm in the LGI room at the school.

Also announced at the September 13th BOE meeting were the names of staff members (including Mr. Ganeshananthan) who are up for tenure this school year:

• Jedd Chesterson – EHS Foreign Language
• Molly Earle – EHS English
• Tara Eliassof – GR Special Education
• Linda Fleisher – SP Grade 2
• Devan Ganeshananthan – EHS Assistant Principal
• Douglas Goldman – EHS Physical Education
• David Lally – EHS Special Education
• Loren Napoli – SP/GR Psychologist
• Filipp Nicolosi – GR Grade 5
• Fallon Plunkett – EHS Social Studies
• Douglas Weitz – EHS English/Study Skills
• James Wuttke – EHS Social Studies

Comments (4)

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written by Edgemont resident, October 02, 2011

I hope they do a thorough search for the new principal. While I do not mind the "hiring from within" concept, I do feel that an effort should be made to hire the best possible person for the job.

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written by Joe, September 26, 2011

The deficiencies of the culture lie in the calcification of the system. Other than a lack of differentiation in teaching to individual students, the question remains why all other schools in Westchester, have adopted math tracks in the jr. high level which allows students to easily complete Calculus BC by their senior year. Although the math education is rigorous, perhaps the college admissions offices can't differentiate between regents levels at other schools which are advanced and the Edgemont course given a year later. This perhaps impedes the Edgemont students from competing with other districts in how they are perceived by the admissions officers. The culture also promotes hiring from within which allows for cronyism and not necessarily the best candidate to educate the very smart population. As of now, a fear exists that the new principal will be hired from either the Jr. High School who has no tenured administrators currently, or the other elementary school, whose principal is not highly regarded.

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written by dear joe, September 23, 2011

interesting comment but incomplete - could you please elaborate on the deficiencies of the "edgemont culture" - what standards is it failing to meet? thx.

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written by Joe, September 22, 2011

A small school district needs to bring in administrators from the outside. The Edgemont culture has not changed in 35 years, and needs to be brought to the standards of the educational community in this century.

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