Clouet Confirms Move to Tarrytown Schools
While Christopher Clouet will remain a White Plains resident and will finish his term with the White Plains Public School District to the end of this school year, beginning July 1, he will make the commute to Tarrytown as the newly appointed superintendent of schools.
The Board of Education of the Public School District the of Tarrytowns confirmed the appointment last Thursday and Clouet has formally accepted.
Leaving a position to fill in White Plains, which School Board President Rosemarie Eller says will take time and should not be rushed, Clouet says he feels he has accomplished much and looks forward to doing the same in the Tarrytowns.
“I have been in White Plains for four years and that is a stretch,” he said. “There are many challenges ahead of me that are similar, like working to bring a diverse community together, but the district is smaller than White Plains and I look forward to that.”
Clouet stepped into the position of school superintendent for White Plains in 2009. “It was an incredibly unparalleled time of change in public education,” he explained. “There was a huge shift in state funding and the curriculum core and learning standards were being changed. This meant a big difference in the evaluation process for teachers and principals,” he said. “At the same time, we entered into the Great Recession that resulted in a lack of resources. As well, the 2 percent tax levy cap put a strain on things.”
Despite the challenges, Clouet feels he did a lot for the district. “I was able to bring in online courses, build a media lab, add engineering, and develop a parent portal, among many other things,” he said. “Each year, new students entered the district.”
Clouet says White Plains is a good place and he is dedicated to working through the budget process for the 2013-2014 school year.
Noting that the White Plains School Board had begun some discussion about the search for a new school superintendent, Eller said she could not elaborate because Clouet’s confirmation had only happened last week.
“We don’t want to rush. We want to be thoughtful,” she said. “The kids deserve the best we can do for them.”
White Plains will need someone in the position by July 1 and Eller would not confirm or deny rumors that former White Plains School Superintendent Tim Connors had been approached to fill in temporarily.
“Once we’ve had the time to decide how we want to approach a new hire, we will be ready to make a public announcement,” Eller said, adding: “We thank Chris for everything he has done.”
