After weeks of interviews, the Guilderland Central School District has appointed a new superintendent, John McGuire, to replace Greg Aidala, who will be retiring in November after seven years with the district.
McGuire served three years as superintendent in the Greenwich School District and was assistant superintendent in the Bethlehem Central School District before that. With more than 30 years of experience in the field of education, McGuire said he is ready for Guilderland, but realizes success at the district will be a collaborative effort.
I’m very excited about moving to the district and learning from the people involved, McGuire said. `I will be meeting and talking with groups, asking questions and listening to see what areas we can build and improve on.`
McGuire, who began his career in special education working for the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, said he has always favored a collaborative approach with all parts of the educational body working toward a common goal.
`At Greenwich, we were successful in establishing a professional learning community that always focused on student learning and achievement by being able to forge excellent working relations with our bargaining units, the Civil Service Employees Union, and the Teachers Association Units,` he said.
Aidala, Guilderland’s superintendent for seven years, is retiring after a 35-year career as a teacher and superintendent. He said he feels that McGuire is an excellent match for Guilderland, and that his goal is to make sure he’s well informed about the key issues the district will be addressing in the upcoming year. While past initiatives focused on communication, that has shifted to technology and a new program called Foreign Language Early Start (FLESS), which starts teaching Spanish as early as kindergarten.
Aidala said McGuire’s team-oriented approach is similar to his and plays a big role in making Guilderland one of the high-performing school districts in the area.
` I think Mr. McGuire’s style is a good fit for the district. My goal has always been to hire outstanding teachers and strong support personnel, supervisors, and administrators. Our success depends on contribution from all facets, from the bus drivers, to people working in the cafeterias, to the office staff, and principals. It’s a team effort, and the Guilderland team is exceptional,` he said.
Les Loomis, superintendent at Bethlehem Central School District for 21 years, had praise for his former assistant superintendent.
According to Loomis, McGuire is a `strong instructional leader who knows what it takes to build outstanding programs and to elevate student achievement. `
Loomis added that McGuire works very well with people, and has a rare ability to listen and value the best thinking.
Loomis said McGuire is not just a former colleague, but a friend who he feels will be an excellent match for the Guilderland community.
`I think that John is going to provide excellent leadership at Guilderland and move Guilderland ahead, ` said Loomis, pointing to the similarities between the Bethlehem and Guilderland districts.
`Guilderland is a top-notch school district, and John will recognize that, work with the board of education, teachers and parents to do what needs to be done,` Loomis said.
Richard Weisz, president of the Guilderland Board of Education, said before McGuire was selected, a nationwide superintendent search was conducted by BOCES, which narrowed the selection down to about 20 candidates.
The candidates underwent an intensive interview process from June until August that required them to answer questions in groups of up to 32 parents, administrators, teachers and even bus drivers, at one time.
Weisz said that when it comes to selecting a superintendent, Guilderland believes in shared decision-making, and is looking for someone highly regarded by peers and has good ideas on innovation and professional development.
`We want someone who is respected in the education community, who puts ideas into action, and works well with the teachers and knows how to improve learning,` he said.
McGuire, who will begin his term at Guilderland in mid November, said he plans to work closely with the board to develop a common vision.
`The important thing is not one person’s vision but our visions together. It’s essential to achieving high performance goals for our students,` he said.“