NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The New Rochelle Board of Education will not renew Schools Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne.
The news was announced via an email sent to the Community” by New Rochelle Board of Education President Rachel Relkin:
Dear Community:
We are writing to share an update that Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne has informed the Board of Education he wishes not to extend his contract that expires on June 30, 2019 due to personal reasons. It is his intention to remain as superintendent through the 2018-19 school year.
On behalf of the entire Board of Education, we would like to thank Dr. Osborne for his tireless efforts and dedication to the students and families across the New Rochelle community. Among the many accomplishments we have achieved together under his leadership over the past four years include enhanced fiscal stability, upgrades to our facilities, significant improvements to consistent and coherent school curriculum, and increased commitment to equity for all students.
We appreciate that this notice provides us with adequate time to find a new superintendent to lead the next phase of the district’s progress and we look forward to a smooth transition and a productive year together.
Sincerely,
Rachel Relkin, President
Jeffrey Hastie Vice President
New Rochelle Board of Education
Dr. Osborne sent out his own letter to District employees:
Dear the City School District of New Rochelle faculty, staff, and administration,
It has been an honor to lead the City School District of New Rochelle for the past four years as your Superintendent. New Rochelle is a special place, with an amazing and inspiring student body. You are truly the most dedicated, professional and impressive faculty, staff, and administration that I have encountered, and I am grateful to have been associated with your fine work. Thanks to your efforts and in partnership with the Board of Education, we have accomplished a great deal, and the district has made significant progress.
To improve student learning, we have created a cohesive and consistent approach to curriculum and instruction across the district. It is to the credit of you who are professional staff, instructional leaders, principals, assistant principals and department chairs and supervisors that we were able to quickly implement a high-quality district-wide approach to reading, writing, mathematics, academic interventions and professional development. And thanks to your willingness to have courageous conversations, we increased equity, creating expectations for learning outcomes that are consistently high across all schools and providing greater levels of support to students who need it.
We have taken responsible action to address facilities needs so that our school buildings will reflect the same level of pride that we have in the quality of our educational programs. We improved the leadership and management of facilities, and, operations and maintenance staff, you have risen to the call for higher standards. The difference in the facilities and their upkeep is already apparent thanks to your hard work, and the projects enabled by the $106.5M bond will make a dramatic difference to ensuring that the school buildings are safe environments that facilitate and support teaching and learning for the 21st century.
The district’s financial position is strong. Thanks to the shared work of administrators and leaders and the insights of staff from across the district, we have balanced budgets, replenished our fund balance, and begun to fund the reserves that will be so critical to the district should there be another economic downturn or deep cuts in state funding. In addition, each year, we budgeted enhancements and staffing to the instructional program for our students by finding savings and efficiencies in operations.
Students and teachers are now working with the latest technology in an environment that supports ubiquitous access and modern day functionality. A growing number of teachers are innovating in cutting-edge ways and enabling their students to have a powerful voice and create meaning in communities that extend well beyond the classroom into the world, and it has been inspiring and fascinating to see what you have enabled students to learn and do in your classrooms.
The next level of work for the district, and indeed for public education across the nation, is to vastly improve social-emotional supports for students and their families and to improve school safety through measures that humanize students and the school environments. Clinical staff, you have done an amazing job to meet the ever-increasing needs of students and families while the resources and financial support for this area has waned over the past decade. Despite increased caseloads and intensifying student needs, you have provided social-emotional support and mental health to students and their families, enabling students to learn and thrive and ensuring the school culture is supportive and positive. More needs to be done to support the critical work of meeting our students social and emotional needs.
Security staff, you have been under increased scrutiny and pressure to respond effectively to student violence and the increased nationwide specter of school shootings. As concerns and community fears have intensified, you have remained professional and steadfast in keeping our schools safe. The next several years will also see significant changes and investment in school safety and security, here and in every district in the country. We all need to take care that school safety is improved through measures that humanize students and the school environments, and do not criminalize young people or make schools into security states.
To best position the district for further progress, it is time to move forward with a transition that strengthens the spirit of partnership that is necessary for significant improvement and that made so much of our accomplishments possible. To enable that to happen as effectively as possible, I have notified the Board of Education that the 2018-2019 school year will be my last as Superintendent. This will provide ample time to continue progress and have a smooth transition, and I look forward to a productive year ahead.
I have been most impressed with and grateful for the level of professionalism within all roles in the district, and the quality of the relationships across those roles. Each of you contributes in important and extraordinary ways to what we together provide for our students. The roots of pride in New Rochelle and the shared high expectations and caring for all students run deep through the faculty, staff, and administration, and there is no doubt that together you will continue to serve students well here for years to come.
Thank you for all that you give to New Rochelle’s great kids every day, and for being a model of a caring and professionalism that strives to challenge and support all students every day. All means all!
Sincerely,
Dr. Brian G. Osborne
Superintendent of Schools