Dr. Paul Fried, right shown in a White Plains TV interview on PEOPLE TO BE HEARD, has resigned as White Plains Superintendent of Schools. A new Superintendent is expected to be hired for the 2017-18 School Year.
WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey December 24, 2016:
The White Plains City School District announced in the Winter Edition of its Community Links publication Friday that it had begun a search for a new Superintendent of Schools who would replace Dr. Paul Fried, and take over the position from Acting Superintendent, Lawrence W. Smith July 1, 2017.
Community Links announced that Dr. Fried has submitted his resignation to the Board on Monday, December 12, after he had been on medical leave since last May. The nature of his illness was not announced.
Dr. Fried leaves the district after a year and a half. He started with the district on July 1, 2015, and in the short time before he went on medical leave had begun with former Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Jessica O’Donovan, a plan to expand the school district dual language plan for classes in English and Spanish to be expended through fifth grade. He had established a community committee of school personnel and citizens to explore the alternatives he and O’Donovan had developed.
The commitment to expand the dual language instruction was a response to the New York State Education Department Section 154 legislation requiring any district had more than 20% of its students in any grade classified as English Language Learners had to be given a choice of instruction in their own language or a course that gave then some Spanish language based instruction. Dr. Fried acquired permission from the State Education Department last year to delay the decision on how the district would respond to January, 2017. At this point with an Acting Superintendent (Howard W. Smith) in place until June, it is not known if White Plains will proceed with making that decision or not, or whether the State Education Department will extend or modify the requirement of Section 154. Previously Dr. Fried had been Superintendent of Schools in Montville, New Jersey from 2005 to 2014 and Mamaroneck Public School which he left in 2005 for the New Jersey position.
Fried arrived in White Plains in July 2015 as Superintendent, taking over for Interim Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors, who returned to the district in the 2012-13, to replace Dr. Christopher Clouet who took a position with the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns. Clouet, who was retired from New Haven School Superintendent had succeeded Mr. Connors in July 2009, after Connors officially retired from White Plains after 7 years. Connors had replaced the 12 year Superintendent Saul Yanofsky in 2001.
Dr. Clouet left White Plains as Superintendent in 2013, and Connors was brought back as Interim Superintendent for two years from 2013-14, 2014-2015, until the district hired Dr. Fried in July, 2015, to replace Connors.
At the time of his resignation, effective January 17 (next month), Fried will have been with the district just a year and a half, but had begun efforts to address the White Plains need to bulwark their commitment to Latino students.
Currently in the 2015-16 school year, the White Plains School District student population is made up of 56% Latino students (3,903), 24% white students (1,714) and 14% Black students (979).
Across the city, according to the 2012 census the city of White Plains population was 63% white; 32% Hispanic and 15% Black.
