October 17, 2022
From the Desk of the President of the Harrington Park Board of Education.
The BOE held the third meeting of the 22-23 school year last Thursday, and there were mixed emotions as Dr. Fried’s resignation was formally accepted. The Board is proud to have Dr. Fried take on a prestigious role at Ramapo College and is very happy for him and his family. At the same time, we all shared heavy hearts in letting him go, as Dr. Fried has been an outstanding leader for the past 17 years.
With Dr. Fried’s pending departure, the Board is challenged to find the next superintendent who will take the school District to the next level of academic excellence, student care, staff development, and business operations.
As I mentioned in the previous letter to the community, the Board will go through a fair process that will evaluate internal and external candidates to identify the right Superintendent for Harrington Park’s unique needs and culture.
The Board will conduct parallel tasks consisting of finding and appointing an Interim Superintendent and a permanent Superintendent. While the Superintendent search will take a longer duration, an Interim Superintendent appointment will be on an expedited schedule so that he/she will be appointed starting January 1, 2023, for a 6-month term ending on June 30, 2023.
In this regard, the District has posted the Interim Superintendent opening on various online and offline media and the school website. The Board intends to review candidates in late October/early November.
For the Superintendent search, the District will solicit proposals from several firms that can assist the District with the search process.
I will provide periodic progress updates on these efforts as they become available.
As part of the Districts leadership development, two of our Student Council members provided an update to the Board and the public. They presented the following happenings in the District:
In September, the Student Council hosted a pajama day to raise awareness for “Cancer Kids First” and raised nearly $1,000.
Student Council hosted a Walk & Bike to School Day on September 30th with a huge turnout from the students.
At the end of October, the Student Council will run its annual candy count contest. Funds raised will support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Enjoy the nice cool weather and beautiful foliage,
Stephen Hahm