Incoming Superintendent D. Joseph Corr conducted the second of two public forums on March 4, 2010.

March 8, 2010 - Incoming Superintendent D. Joseph Corr conducted the second of two public forums on Thursday night, discussing a multitude of issues facing the educational world, and addressing what he believes is the essence of North Colonie Schools.

“In North Colonie we have a terrific foundation built upon the outstanding work of the faculty, support staff, administrators and Board of Education, both past and present,” Corr said. “We have a staff whose focus is on teaching and learning and the mission of providing a better life for our children.”

Corr was formally appointed as the new Superintendent of North Colonie Schools on January 25, effective August 1. The Board of Education organized two Meet the Superintendent public forums, where community members could meet Corr and discuss the future of North Colonie Schools.

Corr recognized the Board of Education, stating, “(They) are charged with the enormous task of meeting the educational needs of our students in a manner that is both fiscally prudent and focused on empowering the lives of children, for it is this district’s obligation to provide our children with the corresponding skills, knowledge and tools necessary to access this good life.”

With school districts facing unprecedented financial challenges, Corr acknowledged that North Colonie enters the 2010-11 budget season coping with fiscal constraints unlike any other in recent memory.

“It is all too obvious that since the fall of 2008, fears about the future and fears about our economic stability dominate the news and our lives,” he said. “Most recently, the news regarding the seemingly never-ending and always-deepening fiscal crisis faced by New York State, has thrown into doubt all our previously held assumptions regarding a better life for our children and future generations. We cannot and will not back off from this commitment to provide this better life.”

Corr discussed that the North Colonie district will have to work smarter, and do more with less.

“If we remember that it is our mission to educate for the 21st century, to provide the best for our students, then that is all the motivation we need to move forward,” he said. “The words share, collaborate and research will need to be an ever increasing part of our vocabulary, as we look for ways to meet our students’ needs.”

Corr said that he recognized that with financial uncertainties ahead of us, the district will have to grow together and learn as a team. He made clear that the district must monitor, adjust and revise – all with the North Colonie children at the center of the vision.

“This is our collective responsibility – mine as your new Superintendent and yours as partners in the greater learning community which defines and sustains the North Colonie Central Schools.”