Alvarez is Out as Rye Schools Head, Temp Leader Named
It is never good news when the PR announcement says they wish "all the best in his new endeavors"…
Frank Alvarez, Rye City Schools Superintendent is out, and a new interim head, Brian D. Monahan, has been named. Not a lot of color is currently available as the news seems to be a surprise. Alvarez is finishing year four of a five year contract.
Read the MyRye.com story when Alvarez was appointed back in 2012.
Leave a comment below on the news.
Here are the two announcements issued by Rye Schools as well as the memo sent to staff:
DR. FRANK ALVAREZ TO COMPLETE TERM AS SUPERINTENDENT
RYE, NY — July 19 — At the July 19, 2016 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Dr. Alvarez announced his plans to complete his term as Superintendent in Rye on July 31. He made the following statement:
Rye has been a wonderful community in which to work. I am proud of the many accomplishments attained in the last four years. The support of the Board of Education, faculty, staff and parents enabled several new initiatives to take root and become important components of a productive school environment for all our students. I am equally appreciative of the support of the community, which led to the construction of the new Science Wing during my tenure and the passing of an override budget with an overwhelming voter majority in May 2015.
The administrators, faculty and staff continue to make Rye a high achieving school district. Your work is valued and your dedication is an inspiration to all.
A special “thank you” to the Parent Teacher Organizations/Parent Organizations, the Friends of the Rye City School District and the Rye Fund for Education for all you do on behalf of our students, making many educational opportunities possible during fiscally challenging times.
It has been a privilege to serve the Rye community.
Board President Katy Keohane Glassberg thanked Dr. Alvarez for his service and went on to describe the path forward:
On behalf of the Board of Education and the Rye City School District community, I want to thank Dr. Alvarez for his contributions over the past four years. Under Frank's leadership, we have undertaken wonderful educational initiatives including heightened focus on literacy and professional development district wide; full day Kindergarten; STEM offerings; and completion of the Science Wing. Students have flourished during his tenure and Rye continues to be one of the top rated school districts in the country. We thank him for his dedication to our students, faculty and staff, and the community.
The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Brian Monahan as Interim Superintendent of Schools effective August 1. Dr. Monahan is a seasoned, professional Superintendent. The District is fortunate to have such an experienced educator at this time of transition. We are confident Dr. Monahan will very capably run the District while the Board proceeds with a search process that will be thoughtfully planned, provide opportunities for input from all school community stakeholders, and be conducted with professional search consultants. We will provide more detail as we proceed.
In the meantime, I hope you will join us in wishing Dr. Alvarez all the best in his new endeavors.
Brian D. Monahan, Ph.D., Rye City School District Interim Superintendent
Dr. Monahan began his public education career in the Yonkers Public Schools as a computer science and English teacher and for the next four decades gained a wide breadth of experience both in and out of the classroom. He has held positions as a curriculum specialist, Director of Information Technology and Deputy Superintendent. Dr. Monahan retired as Superintendent of Schools from the North Rockland Central School District in August of 2009 after serving there for 14 years in several administrative positions.
Following his retirement, Dr. Monahan spent three years at Pace University as a full-time faculty member and coordinator of the University’s graduate program in Education Leadership. In that role he helped prepare future teachers and administrators. In addition to his work at Pace, Dr. Monahan has served as an adjunct professor of English, computer science and education at Fordham, Bank Street College of Education, Westchester Community College and Iona College. He is a prolific writer and presenter with over 200 articles which have appeared in books and scholarly and popular journals.
In 2012-13 Dr. Monahan was recruited by the Hendrick Hudson School District to serve as Interim Superintendent of Schools. In the years to follow he held similar positions in the Garrison and Mahopac School Districts.
Dr. Monahan has a BA in English from SUNY Albany and holds three Master’s Degrees (in English Education from Iona College, Applied Linguistics from Columbia University, and Computer Science from Pace University). He has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teaching with a specialization in Language and Literacy from Fordham University.
Dr. Monahan and his wife, Terry, live in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where he has served three terms as Village Mayor and as a School Board and Village Trustee. They have one daughter, Lisa, who is teaching Marketing and completing her Ph.D. at the University of South Florida.
MEMO: Dear RCSD Administrators, Faculty and Staff:
We would like you to be the first to know that this will be taking place this evening at the Board of Education meeting. We look forward to sharing additional information in the days to come.
Sincerely,
Katy Keohane Glassberg + Frank Alvarez
At the July 19, 2016 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Dr. Alvarez announced his plans to complete his term as Superintendent in Rye on July 31. He made the following statement:
“Rye has been a wonderful community in which to work. I am proud of the many accomplishments attained in the last four years. The support of the Board of Education, faculty, staff and parents enabled several new initiatives to take root and become important components of a productive school environment for all our students. I am equally appreciative of the support of the community, which led to the construction of the new Science Wing during my tenure and the passing of an override budget with an overwhelming voter majority in May 2015.
The administrators, faculty and staff continue to make Rye a high achieving school district. Your work is valued and your dedication is an inspiration to all.
A special “thank you” to the Parent Teacher Organizations/Parent Organizations, the Friends of the Rye City School District and the Rye Fund for Education for all you do on behalf of our students, making many educational opportunities possible during fiscally challenging times. It has been a privilege to serve the Rye community.”
Board President Katy Keohane Glassberg thanked Dr. Alvarez for his service and went on to describe the path forward: “On behalf of the Board of Education and the Rye City School District community, I want to thank Dr. Alvarez for his contributions over the past four years. Under Frank's leadership, we have undertaken wonderful educational initiatives including heightened focus on literacy and professional development district wide; full day Kindergarten; STEM offerings; and completion of the Science Wing. Students have flourished during his tenure and Rye continues to be one of the top rated school districts in the country. We thank him for his dedication to our students, faculty and staff, and the community.
The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Brian Monahan as Interim Superintendent of Schools effective August 1. Dr. Monahan is a seasoned, professional Superintendent. The District is fortunate to have such an experienced educator at this time of transition. We are confident Dr. Monahan will very capably run the District while the Board proceeds with a search process that will be thoughtfully planned, provide opportunities for input from all school community stakeholders, and be conducted with professional search consultants. We will provide more detail as we proceed.
In the meantime, I hope you will join us in wishing Dr. Alvarez all the best in his new endeavors.”
You’re right Jay, and all this activity didn’t happen overnight. Maybe he’s accepted a better position closer to his home. I’ve not heard one single bad thing about him.
But it’s strange this separation appears over a year prior to the contract ending. And remember, our RCSD hasn’t been historically forthright, candid nor even truthful about these separation matters.
Case in point, Dr. Edward J. Shine’s “retirement” only a few short years ago.
This man was literally lionized in all the retirement articles that ran contemporaneous with his heartfelt passage into his ‘golden years.’ Then this below came out afterwards –
Google: “Haggerty: Former Rye coach Brian Lavelle gets his name cleared – Lohud – December 21, 2013” Excerpt – (capitals here are mine)
“The settlement of Lavelle’s defamation suit doesn’t permit him to discuss the district’s actions. But court papers raise multiple questions.
They reveal that the district reported to Rye police that surveillance video of the high school gymnasium SHOWED ONLY LAVELLE going into the backpack on Nov. 23, 2010. In fact, the video, which the district refused to show Lavelle until under court order five months later, SHOWS THREE PEOPLE, including Lavelle, going into it that night. Lavelle said he went into it to determine its owner.
Court records also reveal that THE DISTRICT ERASED additional gym video.
Lavelle was suspended on Dec. 2, 2010, and fired by the school board five days later. He was questioned by police but never charged.
In response to Lavelle’s defamation lawsuit, in January 2011, athletic director Robert Castagna said in an affidavit that he had reviewed surveillance tapes and they showed Lavelle removing something from the bag. According to court papers submitted by Lavelle’s attorney, Gerald DiEdwards, Castagna reviewed only about five minutes of video, although the knapsack was left unattended from the afternoon until the next morning.
Court records indicate the alleged theft was investigated by school security officer Ed DiNunzio, who told Rye police that surveillance video didn’t show anyone other than Lavelle handling the knapsack. DiNunzio, who no longer works for the district, could not be reached for comment.
Contacted this week, Rye City Assistant Superintendent Gabriella O’Connor maintained that the district’s insurance carrier handled and resolved the matter, and that the district HAD NO COPY of the settlement agreement, nor any other documentation relating to the case. But Robert Freeman, chairman of the state’s Committee on Open Government, said that even if those records are not being kept on school property, they are subject to FOIL if maintained for the district.
Among the materials not supplied to The Journal News is a “written document” cited in court documents from then-Superintendent of Schools Edward J. Shine to the Board of Education on Dec. 7, 2010. In it, Shine says that while video shows a coach besides Lavelle opening the knapsack in front of two people, “There is only one person who could have taken those items: varsity basketball coach Brian Lavelle.”
Shine, NOW SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Conn., declined comment.”