New Superintendent of Schools Appointed in Hen Hud
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After nearly 60 candidates were screened and a dozen were interviewed, the Hendrick Hudson Board of Education appointed a new Superintendent of Schools last week.
Michael Tromblee, who served the last five years as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Learning in the Mahopac Central School District, was hired Oct. 3 for a term of three years and seven months at an annual salary of $260,000, and will officially begin in his new role on Dec. 1.
“The words that come to mind are immense gratitude,” Tromblee said. “I have an extreme sense of personal responsibility to serve the community and its students, and to make sure the hopes and aspirations the community has for those students can be met. That’s really my charge: To be the servant leader who can assist the school district in continuing to do the great things it is proud of and to solve problems in areas where they’d like to make positive changes for students.”
Interim Superintendent Dr. Dennis Lauro has been running the district since last Feb. when Joseph Hochreiter took a leave of absence and ultimately accepted a job in Albany.
Before landing in Mahopac, Tromblee served as the Director of Technology for the City School District of New Rochelle and the Director of Technology for the Pelham Union Free School District. Earlier in his career, he also worked for five years in Pelham as a high school social studies teacher.
“I had an opportunity to serve with fantastic educators, faculty, and staff in all of those districts,” Tromblee said. “From each experience, it is the people who leave the biggest impression on me. I’ve always tried to take the best of what I have learned from others and bring that to any new opportunities.”
Prior to working in education, Tromblee had a decorated four-year career in the United States Air Force that he credits for his leadership style as an educator.
“That’s where I helped to forge and form my approach to leadership,” he said. “I had fantastic mentors who took time to talk about leadership concepts, and who lived out those same leadership concepts. That’s where I really developed my professional and personal core values of integrity, service before self, and to always strive for excellence. That really helped shape me as I transitioned into the world of education.”
During its search process for a new superintendent, Hendrick Hudson officials created and developed a superintendent profile to find the qualities and characteristics the right candidates would possess. That was accomplished with stakeholder input, utilizing in-person and virtual meetings, surveys, and other means to ensure as many stakeholders as possible were involved to help lead the board through its decision-making process.
After a consulting team identified 12 potential candidates, the Board of Education formally interviewed six of those individuals.
“This is an incredible time for Hendrick Hudson,” said Board of Education President Alexis Bernard. “I did not know what to expect as we entered into this search process. Our vision of leadership as a community was so important to me and the board. Appointing Michael Tromblee as our superintendent is a true honor and privilege. Hendrick Hudson is a special place and I believe he is the perfect leader to drive us toward a successful future. It certainly is a great day to be a Sailor.”
Board of Education members attended in-person site visits in Mahopac, where trustees met with key leaders, including Mahopac’s current superintendent, administrators, board trustees and board leadership, staff, parents, students, and others to gain valuable perspective on Tromblee.
“The site visits were an incredible opportunity for us to really get to know Mr. Tromblee and get a true sense of what his leadership style is,” said Board of Education Vice President Erica Mills. “Each person we sat with spoke highly of him and shared many stories about their experiences working with him as a school leader, as well as who he is as a person. His knowledge, experience, leadership, and collaborative style will be a true asset to the Hendrick Hudson School District.”
The Board of Education also hosted its own leadership meetings with Tromblee, during which he met with district leadership, including the full administrative team from the district office and school buildings, in addition to union leadership and PTA leaders.
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