New Special Education Administrator Aims to Enhance Services

Connie Hayes starts Monday as Katonah-Lewisboro’s new director of special services, a position that has seen three directors in as many years. But she plans to stick around, she said, offering continuity and leadership to a department where it’s sorely needed.

“I hope this will be a job to finish my career—I’ve been in advocacy for a long time I take a great deal of pride in what I do,” she told Patch. “I am a worker, and I’m 56 years young.”

Her immediate goals will be to learn and understand the special education programs and to “build a picture” of where the services are in each of the six buildings, and outside of the district.

“Part of the challenge of a special education administrator is to have all that information in one place to gauge from year-to-year what resources you need,” said Hayes.

Hayes takes the reigns from Linda Schluter, who served as interim special services director from February to July of this year. Schluter came on board temporarily to replace Phyllis McGill, who left to become superintendent of schools for the Onteora School District. Prior to that, Christine Szafranski served as director for one year, taking over for Ellen Doherty who became principal at John Jay High School in 2008.

Schluter said at the June 1 school board meeting that the lack of a consistent director had led to some planning difficulties when it came to identifying long-term staffing needs for students requiring services. She reported then that ten staff members were let go due to changes in recommendations resulting from parent meetings with the committee on special education. Schluter noted then that long-range planning for students would go hand-in-hand with long-range planning for personnel.

Hayes acknowledged the ebb and flow of services in special education.

“Fewer services many times are a reflection of students gaining skills they need, but unfortunately it does result in people losing jobs,” she said. She added that something she has done in previous districts is to provide the school board and parents with reports to explain trends in special education and give federal and state legislative updates and forecast any impact on local programs.

Hayes’ philosophy has been to keep students requiring special needs in the district whenever possible.

“Some students need specialized services out-of-district, but when we send them out, we can’t replicate the home school community, and it distances parents," she said. "I’m always struck by the difference it has made in kids who have been brought back; sometimes students can actually produce more in the home district, I’ve seen it time and time again.”

Hayes describes herself as “very hands-on.” She brings 24 years of educational experience, most recently as assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services in the New Paltz Central School District. She has classroom experience—she was a social studies teacher but said administration and advocacy work seems to be a “better fit”—and developed organizational, budgeting and counseling skills as a financial aid and career counselor at SUNY Canton, where she devised a program to help single moms obtain education and make a living to support themselves.

Hayes, who holds a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Potsdam and a Master’s degree in counseling and human development and educational administration from St. Lawrence University, brings personal experience in special education services to the table. Her son has attention deficit disorder and she said through her own parenting she has become educated about how to ensure the right services are available and provided to students who need them.

Hayes said the job’s challenges include “insane amounts of paperwork,” and coming up with strategies to make the most efficient use of available resources in a free public education.

“Working in special education can be nerve-wracking and intense and really rewarding, too,” she said. “Education will hold this country together, and having any child turned off is such a waste—so if we can, via programming, prevent that from happening than we are doing what we should be doing.”

Hayes was hired to a three-year probationary period with a salary starting at $165,000 in 2011-2012. Schulter’s appointment ends Aug. 31.