EdVANTAGE Blog

Last evening, we issued the following news release:

Rogers to Lead Nassau BOCES

Albany, NY – October 28, 2009 – The New York State Council of School Superintendents (THE COUNCIL) announced that its Executive Director, Dr. Thomas Rogers, will be leaving at the end of the year to assume the position of District Superintendent of the Nassau County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), headquartered in Garden City, Long Island.

In addition to serving as the chief executive officer of the Nassau BOCES, the District Superintendent also holds statutory responsibilities as the regional representative of the Commissioner of Education and the State Education Department.

State Education Commissioner David Steiner said, “The District Superintendent acts as both my representative and liaison to the 56 school districts in Nassau County. I look forward to working closely with Dr. Rogers on ambitious goals for the 212,000 students in his Supervisory District.”

Dr. Rogers had been appointed as Executive Director of THE COUNCIL in 2003 after serving as the organization’s chief policy advocate since 1996. He had previously served in an education policy capacity in the administrations of two past State Senate Majority Leaders.

“Tom has led THE COUNCIL to tremendous growth in member services and education policy influence. I have no doubt he’ll be a tremendous asset to Nassau BOCES and remain a leading voice in education policy issues,” said COUNCIL President Dr. L. Oliver Robinson, superintendent of the Shenendehowa school district in Clifton Park, an Albany suburb.

Under Dr. Rogers’ leadership, THE COUNCIL:

• Established LEAF, the Leadership for Educational Achievement Foundation, Inc., a partner organization created to leverage philanthropic funds to advance the preparation of school district leadership teams in New York State;

• Created an in-house legal service, negotiating and enforcing the contracts of superintendents statewide;

• Launched the “Education is a Civil Right” advocacy campaign, and made THE COUNCIL a highly visible education policy advocate;

• Instituted year-long programs for new superintendents, team-based programs for educational leaders, coaching programs for superintendents, and a professional development catalog.

• Co-sponsored (with the State School Boards Association) a multi-year “value-added testing” demonstration project housed at the Capital Region BOCES;

• Increased organization membership to record levels, doubled revenue over 6 years, raised non-dues income to over 60 percent of all revenue, ended every year with net operating surpluses, and increased strategic reserves by 30 percent.

THE COUNCIL’S Executive Committee members will be meeting on November 5th to adopt a transition plan to ensure continuity of leadership as they develop their search for a new Executive Director.

Dr. Rogers said, “It has been my tremendous privilege to serve the superintendents of New York State for the past 14 years, now it will be my honor to join them as a colleague in the challenging work ahead: reshaping our preparation of students for success in a 21st century world even as we lead our schools through a period of resource scarcity.”

Nassau BOCES is the largest such entity in New York State, serving 56 school districts enrolling 212,040 students. Nassau BOCES employs 4,315 staff who work on 20 campuses throughout the county, serving both students and adults enrolled in a variety of nationally-known special education, career and technical education, and literacy programs.

Dr. Rogers received his Master of Arts and Doctor of Education degrees from Columbia University Teachers College, and his Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry cum laude from the University at Buffalo. He is the author of several publications, has lectured at the College of St. Rose, and currently serves on the boards of several education-related organizations.

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