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WPCNR MILESTONES. February 10, 2021:

Saul Yanofsky, a former long- time superintendent of schools in White Plains, NY, who implemented an ambitious reorganization of its elementary schools, unexpectedly died on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, surrounded by his family.

He was 79. Yanofsky had a long and impactful career in public education reform, beginning with his job in Philadelphia as the Director of Research and Planning at the Pennsylvania Advancement School, from 1968-1972. The following year, Saul was one of a remarkable team of scholars and school reformers assembled to staff the new National Institute of Education in Washington, D.C.

As deputy director of the programs conducting research on school policy and organization, he guided studies resulting in significant new insights into schools’ use of research findings to raise student performance, as well as on teacher quality, school desegregation, higher education policy, legal studies and school organization and leadership.

In 1982, Yanofsky moved to White Plains, where as superintendent he acted on his commitment to educational reform and equity by implementing a nationally recognized model of school choice and racial balance.

He led the district through a challenging transition as the demographics in White Plains shifted; Yanofsky’s aim was to ensure equitable outcomes for students of color.

His plan allowed parents to choose the school their children would attend but also established guidelines so that each grade would be racially integrated.

His work there became a much-invoked example for other districts, while he became a role model for other superintendents, some of whom grew to be not just colleagues, but his dear friends.

( WPCNR wrote in 2001, when Mr. Yanofsky left the district as Superintendent:

“Dean of School District Leaders is Pacesetter for Westchester County School Districts.

Yanofsky is looked to by Westchester School Superintendents as the lead negotiator and pacesetter in education issues. They have looked to Yanofsky for leadership in matters of teacher contract negotiations, school standards, and district management issues. As White Plains District goes, so goes the county, has been the impression.

Dr. Yanofsky has been a very vocal critic of the way in which the Department of Education operates in administering its state standard tests, and has been the lead Westchester spokesman in Albany on that issue.

He has also upgraded and adjusted White Plains school curricula to produce test scores that have improved on state mandated tests since they were instituted four years ago.“

After he left White Plains in 2002, Yanofsky was appointed as an Assistant Dean at Westchester Community College, where he created a program to identify, inspire and train the next generation of public school teachers.

Saul was born in Brookline, MA, on March 20, 1941, to Esther (Silberberg) and Clarence Yanofsky. He graduated with honors from Amherst College in 1962 and was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity; his fraternity brothers are among his lifelong friends.

He earned a doctorate degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1968. From his youth in Brookline, MA, through his years at Amherst College, his long career in education, and his post-retirement years, Saul had a gift for collecting friends and admirers.

Throughout his life, his combination of kindness, empathy, insight, and sense of humor drew people to him. He was a truly fine human being who made a real difference in thousands of lives.

While his passion for education ran deep, so did his passion for politics — and he was thrilled with the outcome of the 2020 elections. But nothing could surpass his love of family.

He and his wife Nancy met in Hebrew school at the age of 10 and began dating at the age of 16, the beginning of a lifelong partnership between two strong-willed people with a zest for social involvement, a love of adventure, and a gift for drawing friends into their orbit.

They passed their enthusiasms and idealism along to their three children and their spouses, Carole (David Anderson), David (Julianne Ugo), and Jon (Margaret Crisostomo), who survive him, along with his six beloved grandchildren – Julia, Zachary, Giovanna, Luca, Stella and Quincy.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to El Centro Hispano in White Plains, where a scholarship has been established in his name, and/or to the Friends of White Plains Youth Bureau. A virtual memorial service to celebrate his life is planned for Sunday, February 14. Contact the Riverside Memorial Chapel www.dignitymemorial.com