NEW SCOTLAND – Voorheesville Elementary School Principal Dr. Thomas Reardon announced this week that he will be the new superintendent for the Wynantskill Union Free School District in Rensselaer County beginning in July.

“It’s bittersweet,” Reardon told The Enterprise. “I truly love it here, and the faculty and students. It’s tough to say goodbye.”

Reardon said that he was chosen from 34 applicants after a series of 15 hours of interviews.

“I was invited to apply through a search consultant,” he said.

Wynantskill is a small district of 300 that serves only kindergarten through eighth-grade students, he said.

“It’s a unique environment,” Reardon said. “ ‘Union free’ implies no teachers, but really it means no high school program.”

Graduates from Wynantskill choose to attend one of five regional high schools, and the district pays tuition for its students to those schools, Reardon said. The small district has only 30 students per grade level, making the provision of a high school program too expensive, he said.

“It’s coming back to my roots,” Reardon said. “I began my career as a middle school teacher. My work in administration has been in elementary.”

Wynantskill offers “the best of the things I love,” Reardon said. “I have an understanding of where they’re coming from, and, as a former teacher, an understanding of where they’re going.”

Reardon came to Voorheesville in 2009, after serving as elementary dean and assistant principal at Bethlehem Elementary School. Before that, he taught eighth-grade English in Bethlehem during the school year, and English and social studies at Ravena during summers.

“I was in the classroom for five years,” he said.

Reardon is currently an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Siena College, and he has taught at The College of Saint Rose and the Sage Colleges, he said.

“It’s been a pleasure teaching at the college level,” he said.

“He’s done a wonderful job for us,” said Voorheesville school board President Timothy Blow.  “He brought a lot of excitement, and improved the workplace there. We’re sorry to see him go.”

Reardon is known for his high energy level and enthusiasm. He said that he works about 13 hours per day.

“It’s a labor of love,” Reardon said. He views education, in one sense, as customer service, where students and staff are clients to be managed pro-actively.

“That can’t be done in an eight-hour day,” he said. “It starts at 5:30 a.m., and ends right before midnight. I’m not a big sleeper.”

Reardon said that tasks must be completed from one day, and preparation must be in place for the next.

“You want to make sure everything is in good shape,” he said.

Blow said that the search for Reardon’s replacement will begin as soon as Voorheesville’s new superintendent, Brian Hunt, begins in July.

Applications for the Elementary Principal position are due by July 15, according to Hunt.

“I anticipate that interviews will be later in July, and that the successful candidate will be appointed by the board of education in August,” Hunt wrote to The Enterprise in an e-mail.

“Voorheesville is a great district with a very supportive community and an excellent staff,” he wrote. “Our elementary school was recently designated a Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education, and I think all of these factors make this a desirable position.”

The district received over 20 applications for the middle school principal search, Blow said, and he expects a similar number for the elementary school principal position.

“We could have some internal candidates,” Hunt wrote, “and they will be considered if they apply. We want the best person for our elementary principal.”

Blow told The Enterprise that a new principal could be hired in time for school to begin in September.

Reardon will close out the school year this week, and take the reins at Wynantskill after the July 4 holiday.
“I’m looking forward to starting a new place and hitting the ground running,” he said. “I’ve had six wonderful years here, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I’m so excited with the next opportunity, but my memories here make it tough to say goodbye.”