Install Dr. Tahira Chase as the Superintendent of Schools for Greenburgh Central School District

Install Dr. Tahira Chase as the Superintendent of Schools for Greenburgh Central School Distric

About this Petition

Like many school districts in our state we are in the midst of transformational change. What our children are learning and what our teachers are teaching is going through radical and fundamental changes. More importantly state-mandated accountability for "measurable learning outcomes" has become central in the minds of our administrators and teachers. They now face the challenge of providing a holistic, experiential and deeper learning experience for our students while at the same time providing proof that they are meeting the requirements for the limited scope of the ELA and Math assessments of the Common Core curriculum. We are a great school district with a tradition of excellence in multiple subjects. We have extra-curricular programs, advanced placement classes and a tradition of project based, experiential programs like the WISE program. If we are to safeguard and expand these initiatives including more STEAM programs, and incorporate the limited but for now unavoidable state accountability measures, we need someone who has a proven track record of high performance, intestinal fortitude and transformational and collaborative leadership. There are very few people we have met that have such a unique mix of a quiet, organic, transformational and collaborative leadership style that Dr. Tahira Chase exhibits. She has the kind of collaborative leadership skills that is needed for an age where everyone is an automatic expert (because they read it on the internet) and yet very few can engage the members of the community to achieve meaningful results that will benefit our children. As we seek to find the right superintendent for our district we ask that you consider the following programs and initiatives she has brought to our district and the impact they have had on our students and our community: - Spelling Bee ====> Reading, Spelling and Comprehension, Local pride, National exposure. - Common Core Integration into Curriculum ====> ELA & Math, 21st Century Skills Development - Critical Thinking, College and Career Readiness. - Professional Learning Communities (PLC) ====> Professional development , Bringing the teaching and non-teaching staff 21St century teaching and service skills. - IReady ====> Formative Student Assessment and Adaptive Learning System, Performance-based longitudinal assessment and learning tools that will allow the teachers to deliver targeted training to kids and parents to know how their kids are developing over time. - Math Modules ====> Common Core Math, Mathematical problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, representation, and connections. Develops adaptive reasoning, strategic competence, conceptual understanding (comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations and relations), procedural fluency (skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently and appropriately), and productive disposition (habitual inclination to see mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence and rigor. - Parent University ====> Classes and Workshops to help parents help their children to become successful learners, Preparing our parents to assist their children with self-directed learning (homework) and find the resources within the district, state and federal environments to help their child. - Also she has spearheaded the JASON project, ACE and other programs that are helping our students to be prepared for college and careers. We are all in agreement that we should seek out the "most qualified, merit-based candidate" for our superintendent. We also believe that Dr. Chase has proven that she merits full consideration as the superintendent that will move our children, our schools, our district and our community into the future. We realize that this letter might seem biased but it is also based on "informed" emotion. Anyone who is willing to put up with the drama filled environment this district inhabits and still deliver such transformational initiatives for our children has our vote and our support. Primarily we support her because she has been able to do something in this district that unbiased and deeply caring parents have been asking for years - a better academic future for our children and real and sustainable programs, methodologies, policies and procedures put in place to make that happen. We should absolutely look out for the best candidates for the position of superintendent, but lets use facts to determine if the interim superintendent deserves an opportunity to serve this district as well or better than she has already been doing. It is clear from her track record: Dr. Chase, believes that education is her life blood and we are honored that she has chosen to lead our district with the intelligence, passion and ability that she so clearly exhibits.