Schools
Wool Wins Superintendent of the Year
Harrison superintendent praised for his commitment to community and raising test scores.
Louis N. Wool, superintendent of the Harrison Central School District, has been named the 2010 New York State School Superintendent of the Year.
Wool has served the district of Harrison since 2002, which includes more than 3,400 students, and earned accolades for creating a disciplined and high-achieving curriculum.
"One of his most stunning achievements has been, and is now, to bring together the diverse population within his own school district and beyond as well. I have worked with hundreds of superintendents and superintendents-to-be. Louis Wool is among the best," said Former Commissioner of Education Thomas Sobol.
Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Winning New York's Superintendent of the Year might be Wool's most prestigious award, but not his first.
In 2003, he was named the recipient of the Carroll F. Johnson Scholarship awarded by Sobol and the faculty of the Educational Leadership Program. This scholarship is given to an educational administration student who demonstrates outstanding talent and leadership.
Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Since Wool took leadership of Harrison's schools, the district has seen measureable improvements.
Harrison High School is now ranked among the top performing schools, with a Regents Diploma rate of 95 percent. In 2002, that percentage was only 69 percent. The high school's enrollment in Advanced Placement Calculus is almost four times higher than it was seven years ago.
The school district's teacher evaluation program was called exemplary by the New York State School Boards Association, which is an achievement in itself, according to the American Association of School Superintendents.
As a member of the American Association of School Superintendents, and a member of the New York State Council of School Superintendents since 2002, Wool has contributed to the Pathways and Curriculum committees, and he now serves as President of the Chief School Administrators of Southern Westchester.
Wool is now New York's candidate for the National Superintendent of the Year award, which will be decided at the AASA's National Conference on Education in Phoenix, to be held in February.
