Ardsley Schools Superintendent Ryan Schoenfeld Retires
Schoenfeld is succeeded by Matthew Block as of July 1st
by Kris DiLorenzo
Ardsley — After six years of helming the Ardsley school system, Superintendent Ryan Schoenfeld is retiring on Jun 30th. His successor, Matthew Block, has taken his place as of July 1st.
The PTSA recently honored Schoenfeld with a Jenkins Award recognizing his contributions to the school system. The award was established by the New York State PTA in October 1946, in memory of Clifford N. Jenkins Jr. (son of the president of the New York State PTA at the time, Margaret Jenkins, who went on to become National PTA president in the 1960s).
During his time in Ardsley, Schoenfeld navigated through a number of challenges. The biggest occurred just short of his second year in the schools: the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. “I felt I had the opportunity as an essential worker to get more involved, to help with the deliveries of food to families like we were doing,” said Schoenfeld. During the COVID-19 crisis, when students worked remotely, he was one of the people making the rounds in Ardsley to personally deliver Chromebooks to students who needed them for distance learning. At the same time, he was working with the Board of Education on developing a Strategic Plan, taking input from the community about what they wanted.
Schoenfeld always emphasized outreach. “We’ve utilized surveys and forums. We’ve done a lot of things to engage the community, embrace the community for who we are, to help lift up, especially during challenging times, but also to celebrate one another,” he elaborated. “That has been something that I’m proud of, a sense of movement in a progressive and forward way.”
He made sure students participated in surveys to get feedback on their perceptions. Rather than simply sending out a survey in an email blast to the community, Schoenfeld had teachers take time in a class to administer surveys and discuss their importance. In the interest of transparency, now the administration is working to improve its communication in reporting back survey results to the people who participated, It’s also worked with student focus groups to gain information, and even conducted senior “exit interviews.” “Softer action research, I’ll call it,” he added.
The outgoing superintendent was a presence at innumerable school events, during and after hours — some a bit unorthodox. Last December, when Concord Road Elementary School students hit the $15,000 mark in raising funds for the PTSA, earning the privilege of gifting principal Anthony DiCarlo with a pie in the face, Schoenfeld volunteered for the same fate.
Schoenfeld also provided leadership in helping the Ardsley team kick off a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion effort, forming a DEI Committee. “We’ve worked a lot with the Village, Mayor Kaboolian, and the Multicultural, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee,” he added. ”We’ve collaborated and supported one another with a multitude of different events that typically were not in Ardsley before. I think it speaks to our diversity and the strength in the fabric we’re made of, and we continue to change. I think that partnership has been helpful, to be known for what we are.”
To educate himself on high school student perspectives, he downloaded and read transcripts from the Black@Ardsley Instagram feed, where people, not just AHS students, posted about their experiences as students of color. In response, the administration held a Town Hall at the high school to allow students to share their voices. Rather than try to determine which Instagram stories were true and which weren’t, Schoenfeld took the view that if a particular concern stood out, it might be happening in the Ardsley schools “and it’s not okay.” He acknowledged that the district should do better to understand what’s happening in schools and society. “We can do better in how we respond, how we support one another, how we bring down the level of concern and not heighten it,” he said.
The school district brought together a diverse committee whose members had varying opinions, and developed some recommendations. The district added a DEI stipend position, appointing 4th-grade teacher Nanesha Nuñez as K-12 Equity Leader, and offered its teachers and administrators professional development in the area of anti-bias training.
Schoenfeld was also proud of his ability to help shepherd the approval of $143 million in capital projects, resulting in improvements at all 3 schools in the district in areas like security, health, and improved facilities.
Schoenfeld also had to help the school community through tragedies during his tenure: the deaths of four faculty and staff members within a 14-month period, the death of a student in a car crash, and another who passed away from a rare form of cancer. “We’re all part of the Ardsley family, and that’s most important in trying to help each other and be there for one another in those times,” Schoenfeld emphasized.
Like many retiring administrators, Schoenfeld said what he’ll miss most about his job is his relationships with students, parents, teachers, and others. He avers that he’s not an “ivory tower” person. “Some people in my role don’t find joy in going to events,” he said, “but that’s who I am, and I embrace that and enjoy it.”
Schoenfeld will be helping Block transition into his new role, through an entry plan and a lot of Zoom sessions. Though the two men are different, Schoenfeld expects continued success in “polishing the gem” that is the Ardsley school district.
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