Mark Woodard is New Principal of Parsons Memorial Elementary School

The Harrison Central School District welcomes Mark Woodard as the New Principal of Parsons Memorial Elementary School.  Mr. Woodard has spent the last ten years in various teaching and leadership roles in the Stamford City School District in Connecticut.

After serving as a fourth and fifth grade teacher at the Stillmeadow Elementary School in Stamford, Mr. Woodard became a literacy coach, where his classroom served as a model in literacy instruction for other teachers. In this role, Mr. Woodard also served on the school’s leadership team and helped to develop school improvement and literacy action plans, and he worked with family liaisons to create and coordinate family outreach programs. Mr. Woodard was promoted to serve as the assistant principal and then the principal of the Toquam Magnet Elementary School, which serves over 700 students from throughout Stamford.

In these leadership roles, Mr. Woodard has led various initiatives, which have included developing a professional learning community that focuses on using data and instructional best practices to meet students’ learning needs, initiating a school-wide positive behavior support team to improve school culture, leading professional development for teachers related to the new Common Core Learning Standards, and implementing parent outreach programs to strengthen communication and promote parent involvement in school initiatives.

Mr. Woodard earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Lafayette College and two Master’s degrees in Childhood Education and Educational Administration from Fordham University. Mr. Woodard also completed the Urban School Leaders Fellowship Program through the Connecticut Center for School Change. He holds advanced teaching and administrative credentials in both Connecticut and New York.