Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Fried has accepted the position of superintendent of Montville Township Public Schools with a start date of July 1, according to a release from the Mamaroneck School District.  

Dr. Fried will be appointed superintendent of the Montville Township School District at a special Board meeting on Feb. 18, as per a press release from the Montville School District issued yesterday evening. 
 
"We are very excited to have Dr. Fried join us as our new superintendent and are confident that his track record for establishing collaborative relationships with a variety of stakeholders will help move our district forward," said Montville Board President Jon Alin.  

Dr. Fried announced in June 2009 that he would retire from the New York State public schools system at the end of this school year, leaving the board enough time to find a replacement for him. Dr. Fried served this community for five years and New York public schools for a total of 38 years. In his announcement, it was stated that Dr. Fried would evaluate his personal commitment to education and consider his options upon retirement.   

"He's been very forthcoming in saying that he was going to continue in education in some way, most likely as a superintendent, and that he would look in New Jersey and Connecticut," said Debbie Manetta, director of public information at the Mamaroneck Public Schools.

Having worked in the New York State Education system for nearly four decades, Dr. Fried was eligible to retire, and the only way he could do so and continue to work in education was to go outside of New York, explained Manetta. 

Dr. Fried is staying true to his pledge to "work as hard as always up until June 30th," said Manetta. "Board members have positively commented on how engaged he still is and that really is his nature." 

The Mamaroneck School District is still searching for a replacement, but has narrowed the choices down to three candidates. A decision will be announced on or before April 1st. 

Below is what Montville released regarding Dr. Fried:
 
Known for his thoughtful and creative leadership, Dr. Fried began his career as an elementary school teacher and worked for many years as an elementary school principal in Ossining.  He then went on to become Ossining's Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education and Human Resources.  Dr. Fried earned his BA and MA from SUNY New Paltz and his Ed.D. from Teachers College Columbia University, where he also has served as an adjunct professor.
 
Upon being offered the position, Dr. Fried expressed his excitement in coming to Montville. 

"I am very appreciative to have the opportunity to join an outstanding school district.  Montville enjoys a wonderful reputation, and I am pleased to have the chance to work collaboratively with all constituencies to move the District forward," he said. "I plan to spend the day in the District on February 18th and look forward to meeting students, staff and parents."
 
In announcing Dr. Fried's departure from the District, the Mamaroneck Schools wrote: 

"Under Dr. Fried's leadership, Mamaroneck has soared to new heights.  For the first time, the District has developed a system for setting measurable goals for all key areas of work, including student learning, which has enabled much progress to be made in the areas of curriculum consistency and development. A structure now in place creates a highly organized process for teacher goal setting, observation and evaluation, and raises expectations and support for quality teaching.  Additionally, the District has significantly and positively changed its relationship with the Mamaroneck Teachers Association (MTA)... He has paid special interest to early learning and intervention... technology - bringing the District to the 21st century with updated financial, student database, and communications systems."
  
Between now and July 1, Dr. Fried will work on developing a plan for meeting and becoming acquainted with all of the District's constituencies, including parents, staff, community members, and municipal leaders.  Dr. Fried recognizes that the District must fill some key leadership positions in the next few months and he looks forward to working with administration, teacher, staff and parent leaders to accomplish this important task.