Superintendent Wool Celebrated For State Accomplishment

Harrison Central School District's Superintendent Louis Wool was honored at Harrison High School Wednesday night for being the recipient of the 2010 State Superintendent of the Year Award.

Wool became superintendent in 2002. Prior to his installation in the post, the school district was so divided that proposed school budgets were routinely voted down by residents. Wool has been credited with bringing Harrison's diverse communities together and establishing one of the highest-performing school districts in the state.

"What I found when I got here was a group of extraordinary people who were not really a community," Wool said Wednesday. "The accomplishments we celebrate tonight are less about academic accolades and more about the values we now share with each other."

Under Wool's leadership, the district has experienced a series of significant accomplishments. In 2002, 180 Advanced Placement exams were taken by Harrison students. Last year, that number was more than 950. The number of special-education students who passed state math exams increased from 21 percent in 2006 to 80 percent in 2009.         

Wool has also been lauded for his financial management of the district. Harrison is one of only three districts in the state to hold a AAA credit rating with Standard & Poor's, and tax increases have been among the lowest in Westchester County even while the district adds academic programs.

The superintendent also developed, in collaboration with the teachers' union, a rigorous teacher evaluation program to ensure that educators who show the most potential gain tenure. The state law granting tenure to teachers after three years has been repeatedly criticized by some education officials.

"Lou attacked a culture inside the school system that by default personified the soft bigotry of low expectations," Harrison School Board Trustee David Singer said in a recent Huffington Post article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-a-singer/harrison-schools-louis-n_b_389177.html). "His battles to reform the school system have been heroic and often at great personal cost."

In a brief speech Wednesday, Wool focused on the collaborative efforts that have been undertaken to get the district to where it is today.

"The real miracle is how we have embraced each other and learned to care about each other as a community," he said.

At Wednesday's celebration, Wool received commendations from State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey and Harrison Mayor Joan Walsh.

He will now vie for the National Superintendent of the Year Award, which will be decided at the National Conference on Education on Feb. 13 in Phoenix.