Peekskill Schools Hires Bedford Assistant Superintendent for Business
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The Bedford Central School District is losing another member of its central administration at the end of the school year. On Apr. 5, the Peekskill City School District Board of Education appointed Cynthia Hawthorne as the district’s new assistant superintendent for business and will take over the position on July 1.
She will be replacing Robin Zimmerman who is retiring from that post effective June 30.
Since 2019, Hawthorne has served as Bedford’s assistant superintendent for business and administrative services. Her departure follows the already-announced retirement of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joel Adelberg and the upcoming exit of Director of Special Education Deborah Dormady.
Bedford will see current Eastchester Superintendent Dr. Robert Glass take over for Adelberg this summer while the district is still searching for Dormady’s replacement.
Hawthorne, who graduated from New York City public schools, received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lehman College. After college, she worked at AT&T for several years and raised her four children with her husband. The family lives in Dutchess County.
Later, Hawthorne completed her master’s degree in business administration from SUNY New Paltz in 2011 and her Certificate of Advanced Studies in School District Business Leadership in 2013.
Before arriving in Bedford, Hawthorne began her career in education at Dutchess BOCES as an office manager and later moved into the business office, serving as a staff specialist. Her first school business administrator position was at Webutuck Central School District in 2014, where she worked for five years followed by her service in Bedford.
In a release from the Peekskill City School District, it stated that Hawthorne was raised by her father, who immigrated from Jamaica to further his education. He worked for most of his career as a teacher in the New Jersey Public School System.
“Ms. Hawthorne and her brothers understood the importance of education, perseverance, and community,” the release stated. “Notably, his life examples instilled in them the importance of leveraging resources and collaborating on care initiatives to benefit the community. In her career in education, Ms. Hawthorne is committed to similar pursuits. She hopes to provide the students of Peekskill with the resources and opportunities they require and that they deserve.”
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