Liberty CS Tabs Vanyo as New Superintendent

By Dan Hust
LIBERTY — May 4, 2007 — Liberty Central School District has a new superintendent. Almost.
Though the official appointment has yet to be made, school officials said this week that Assistant Superintendent of Business Michael Vanyo will be named the district’s superintendent. He will take office July 1.
Vanyo has been with Liberty since joining its business department last year after leaving an upstate company as a state aid consultant. He began his public education career in 1991 as a business education teacher for the Argyle district and worked his way up the professional ladder at a variety of districts.
Vanyo possesses a bachelor’s in business management and two master’s, one in teaching and one in educational administration. He’s working on his Ph.D. in educational leadership, said Sullivan County BOCES.
Vanyo was picked by the board from three finalists to replace Interim Superintendent Ed Rhine, who has been serving as the district’s temporary leader since Supt. Larry Clarke retired last year. Rhine will take over Vanyo’s position on an interim basis.

Sullivan West Reportedly Chooses New Leader

By Dan Hust
LAKE HUNTINGTON — Dr. Kenneth Hilton, the executive director of research and evaluation for the Rush-Henrietta School District near Rochester, was expected to be approved last night as Sullivan West’s new superintendent.
A source close to the negotiations said the board had unanimously offered Hilton a contract, which he accepted. All that was left was for the board to approve it during a special executive session last night. (Due to publication deadlines, the exact vote could not be learned at press time.)
Hilton has spent 35 years in public education, the last 16 with Rush-Henrietta. Though never a superintendent, he has an educational administration certificate and possesses a bachelor’s in American studies and both a master’s and doctoral degree in history (the latter two from Syracuse University).
His professional career has included time as a social studies teacher and an adjunct professor of education at the graduate college level.
According to the Rush-Henrietta district website, Hilton is currently tasked with coordinating the administrative review and implementation of board of education policies, reviewing and reporting on academic standards and achievement progress, guiding and supporting Shared Decision Making (SDM) efforts, coordinating the annual Consolidated Grant Application, supervising K-12 summer school programs, coordinating stakeholder satisfaction assessments, guiding and supporting institutional research efforts, supporting the Office of Instruction with detailed analyses of student achievement data, designing, developing, and publishing the district's Annual Student Achievement Report, monitoring student enrollment and annually providing the board of education with enrollment projections and recommendations for anticipated future needs for instructional facility developments.
Rush-Henrietta serves nearly 6,000 students in the Rochester suburbs and includes five elementary schools (K-5), two middle schools (6-8), a ninth grade academy, and one high school (10-12), in addition to an alternative education program.
Hilton will take over the top spot at SW on July 1, the day after current Supt. Alan Derry retires. Derry, who spent three years with the tumultuous district, is leaving due to pressing family health issues.