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Former School Superintendent Named New York Education Commissioner
School Superintendent’s ‘End Of The Year’ Meeting
On Monday, April 27th in the auditorium at Robinson High School, School Superintendent Jeff Eakin held their “End of the Year” meeting with district principals and supervisors to highlight the success this past school year, and discuss building school culture through relations and student ad- vocacy. (PHOTOS BY BRUNSON)
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Earlier this week, Mrs. MaryEllen Elia, former Su- perintendent of the Hillsbor- ough County School District, was chosen as the Commis- sioner of Education for the State of New York. Mrs. Elia will begin her new duties on July 6th.
“I’m excited. I will have more responsibility than in Hillsborough County because it involves more than 700 school districts, all of the col- lege and university systems, all of the museums and all of the libraries in the state. The scope of the job is much greater than in Hillsborough County,” Mrs. Elia said.
She is the first woman to serve as the state’s Commis- sioner of Education. Mrs. Elia brings nearly 30 years of experience in education to her new position.
A native of New York, Mrs. Elia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Daeman College. She continued her education at the University of Buffalo, where she received her Mas- ter’s in Education. She also earned a Master of Profes- sional Studies in Reading from State University of New York at Buffalo; and certification in educational leadership.
She was a 28-year employee of the School District when she
MARYELLEN ELIA
New Commissioner of Educa- tion for the State of New York
was chosen as Superintendent in 2005. She led the district for more than 10 years before her contract was terminated with- out cause, in January 2015.
During the last year in her role as Superintendent, Mrs. Elia was chosen as the State of Florida’s “2015 Superintend- ent of the Year,” by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and the Florida School Boards Associ- ation. She was also one of four finalists for the national title.
In January 2015, 4 members of the Hillsborough County School Board voted to termi- nate her contract without cause.
Mrs. Elia said, “It was hard. It was unfair, but that didn’t make a difference because it (termination) still resonated across the country. But, I came out of it better. This will be ex- citing.”
Karin Davis-Thompson, and Ginain Grayes.
From left to right: School Board Chair, Susan Valdez; School Superintendent Jeff Eakin; School Board Member, Doretha Edge- comb, and Robinson High School Principal, Johnny Bush.
Area Directors, Henry “Shake” Washington and Owen Young.
Mother and adopted son, Elyse and Thomas Silver.
Van Buren School Principal, Derrick Gaines.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015