Dr. Magda Parvey is leaving West Islip Schools for an administrative position with Chapel Hill-Carboro City Schools in North Carolina, Patch has learned.
According to information posted on the Chapel Hill-Carboro school district website, Parvey’s hiring was approved by that school district’s Board of Education at its Dec. 15 meeting. Parvey will begin her new position Jan. 23.
"Dr. Parvey's expertise with regard to best practice in instruction and her knowledge of the upcoming Common Core Standards were instrumental in our decision making,” said Tom Forcella, superintendent of Chapel Hill-Carboro schools. “Her belief in the importance of promoting a growth-mindset in terms of student learning is a great fit for our current direction as a school district."
Parvey could not immediately be reached for comment.
For more than three years, Parvey has served as West Islip’s Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. Prior to joining West Islip, she served as an elementary school principal in Centereach and as an assistant principal of an elementary school in Armonk, NY, among other positions.
With Parvey’s departure, it remains to be seen if the school district will look to fill her position or eliminate the job in a cost savings move. Currently, the school district is facing a $6 million gap as it works to get expenditures under the state’s tax cap for the 2012-13 school year. About $3 million in savings will come from the closure of two elementary schools, school officials said.
It would seem that common sense should dictate and use this vacancy as an opportunity to consolidate administrative duties in the school district to save money for the taxpayers. Surely, a district of our size does not need two assistant superintendents for curriculum any longer. Instead of filling Dr. Parvey's position, why not distribute the work among the administrators we already have?
sports gets them no where except keeping them off the streets . Some of you people in this town have small minds.
Don't get me wrong. We need good administrative leadership in the district. But, West Islip has always been top-heavy with administrative expenses (don't forget about the administrators' staff salaries and benefits). Part of the reason was so many under-utilized school buildings. As a former career educator, I know that if my salary was doubled, I could not have been more dedicated or work harder. I worked with many truly great educators. Administrators and BOE members need to find this kind of educators and monitor and encourage their progress. If an educator (teacher, administrator, teacher aide) doesn't cut the mustard, then find one who can. Our children deserve the best in education, and salary alone doesn't always do it. It is not easy being a BOE member, I am sure. But, if they want the position, then they need to make smart, educated TOUGH decisions. It is hard work; but it can be done.
http://www.thenotebook.org/blog/114177/pew-study-school-closings-bring-pain-not-much-money
1. There are those of you who say that with Dr. Parvey gone, the district should “consolidate administrative duties in the school district to save money for the taxpayers”. Well meaning but not that easy for the same reason that you would not go to your dentist for heart surgery. Someone who is an expert at educating HS students does not necessarily have the same skills to educate your elementary age child and handle the district’s finances. If your dentist also does your taxes, please let me know. 2. With one of the few people on the island who are qualified to ensure that our elementary students are prepared for the new economy now gone from the district (Dr. Parvey), do you really think that your elementary students are better off? Her departure did very little to close our $6 million deficit. 3. As for the closing of the school buildings, the children don’t care where their classes are located. All they know is that they have to go to school. If they liked school before they will still like it. If they hated it, then they still will. It is the adults who seem to have attachments to buildings. 4. The community elected the board to serve. We should trust that the board is doing what is in the best interest of the community. After all, they live here also. They are a team of professionals, elected to make the tough decisions. We may not always agree with their decisions but they are doing what is right for the community, not for the individuals.
Moreover, the Board is not a team of elected professionals. Most of them are lay people with no educational or financial background. Some even assumed their post running unopposed, read "I want to run", "ok you're in". Go buy a clue Underfoot.
Take a walk through the policy manual: "Additionally, the Board will strive to achieve the following: a) To interpret the educational needs and aspirations of the community, and to meet them through the formulation of polices that stimulate the learner and the learning process;"