CONFER: Please tell us a little about yourself and your experience in the field of education.
HOCHREITER: I was born and lived in Syracuse for the first four years of my life; and grew up in Brockport, NY. I graduated from Niagara University with a degree in Inclusive Education. While at Niagara I had the opportunity to serve as Captain of the Men’s Division I Tennis Team for two years and be named an NCAA Division I Academic All-American. I also completed my Master’s Degree at Niagara in Educational Administration. Currently, I am writing my Dissertation to complete my Doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Rochester.
I have been blessed with relevant and rigorous experiences in Education. Both parents being educators, I knew as a middle schooler, that I had a passion to share, teach and guide young people. This prompted me to begin giving percussion lessons to young musicians in the Brockport area as I progressed through High School years. The basement was converted to a Percussion studio where I gave over a dozen lessons to students each week. It was this same passion that led me to my certification in Special Education, Elementary Education and Social Studies at Niagara. Throughout my college summers I was employed by the Monroe 2 – Orleans BOCES as a Special Education Aide for their Summer Programs and eventually as a classroom teacher. I began my teaching career at Greece Olympia High School, outside of Rochester before moving to the Dansville Central School District as a Middle School Assistant Principal and shortly thereafter High School Principal. I served in this post until April 2006 before moving to the Elmira City School District as the Deputy Superintendent of Schools. Beyond these experiences, however, have been many mentors and supports that have helped shape my philosophy, vision and fueled my career path. One such individual is Dr. Bill Daggett, President of the International Center for Leadership in Education – ICLE (http://www.leadered.com ). I have been fortunate to be a part of his organization’s research, implementation of reform efforts and use of data to change outcomes for students in some of the nation’s toughest, poorest school systems. I have attended and presented at multiple conferences and worked with schools in 15 different states on their personal school reform planning and visioning. Without a doubt, these experiences have helped me personally and professionally work with communities and staffs in reforming and reinventing schools by accessing best practices from the nation’s top performing schools.
CONFER: How would you describe your style of leadership…both in the school and in the community?
HOCHREITER: Collaborative, consensus-building and data-driven. In my current and previous posts, I have built trust-worthy relationships with stakeholders and modeled these characteristics. Be it meeting with Teacher-Leaders, working with a group of Principals or representing the District in the community, I stand and consistently model these characteristics. My current position demands that I spend significant time in schools working with Administrators and Teachers reviewing data, setting school targets, developing school-specific strategic plans and leading programmatic updates on district initiatives. At the core of these discussions and decisions lies my commitment to moving forward by identifying and adapting work of effective schools nationally in tackling problems we are battling locally. I firmly believe that these characteristics, combined with the relationships I have forged in the schools have supported the outstanding academic and programmatic gains Elmira has made in three short years. Few districts in the State have demonstrated such significant growth in a three-year window as Elmira has.
As a resident of Elmira, I proudly serve on numerous community committees and boards. In my current post, and certainly as a Superintendent, I believe it is vitally important to not only live where you work but become involved in where you live. To this end, I have continued to play an active role in the Rotary Club and will be named to its Board of Directors later this Spring. I also serve on the YMCA and United Way Leadership Boards developing programs, identifying support mechanisms and championing the service they provide our young people and community at-large. One of the most important public initiatives I remain involved with is Pipeline for Progress (P4P), (http://p4pnetwork.com) an organization aimed to recruit and retain young professionals to the Twin Tiers and Southern Tier of New York. I have worked with this organization for the better part of two years working with our high school students and area business and industry to highlight the local workforce needs, salary potential and affordable cost of living in the region. Moreover, P4P has partnered with similar organizations in Rochester, Buffalo and Albany to identify strategies to confront the growing “Brain Drain” in upstate New York. Lastly, I serve on the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Education Roundtable, a group of business, industry and education officials working together to bridge the gap between school curriculum and the demands of the real world. In short, by the end of 2009, nearly all of the high school teachers in Chemung County – over 350 teachers – will have attended a business tour in a local company to immerse in the demands and needs to tomorrow’s workforce. A tour of the facility and discussion with the company HR office led to a catered lunch and guest speaker from the Chamber of Commerce speaking to the local industrial needs and desired qualities in the workforce. The afternoon of these tours was capped with a lesson plan and assessment development process challenging teachers to apply their learning from the morning to providing more relevant student experiences while meeting the increasing demands of the State Standards.
CONFER: What attracted you to the Royalton-Hartland District?
HOCHREITER: Before applying for the position and even being selected for an initial interview in December with the Board of Education, I have spent considerable time in the area speaking with residents, business owners, elected officials and neighboring administrators. Personally, I find it important that I have a sense of the demands and needs the community place on the district and what skills and characteristics they desire in a Superintendent. This position is about fit; that I am a fit for the District and that the District and community are a fit for me. I plan to relocate and live within the District, making this fit more important for me. This is imperative as Roy-Hart will not just be my employer, it will be my new home. To this end I have spoken to parents to understand their experiences with the District and what they are looking for out of their Superintendent. All of this feedback has reassured me that I am good fit to meet these needs and challenges and that Roy-Hart is a great fit for me to make my new home.
I believe there lies a great opportunity for Roy-Hart to become a signature district in not only Niagara County and Western New York, but New York State and beyond. My experiences in Dansville and Elmira have led to State and National recognition regarding student achievement, teacher leadership and strategic planning processes. Elmira schools have presented at national conferences in Washington, DC and Orlando and been recognized in Albany by the State Education Department. We are in the planning process of our two Middle Schools will playing host to dozens of teachers in October 2009 when the State Middle Schools Conference heads to Watkins Glen, NY, 30 miles north of Elmira. These successes and experiences coupled with an already high achieving Roy-Hart can begin a conversation about continuous improvement and breakthrough performance. Roy-Hart’s success on grade-level assessments and SAT assessments speaks volumes of the leadership in the schools and creative staff to push students to both higher and deeper levels of understanding. The role of the next Superintendent is to continue this success and add to it, based on the new Superintendent’s experience in increasing outcomes, developing unique programs and support teacher-leadership. At first I believed; now I know that Roy-Hart is poised for such dialogue and leadership from their next leader.
CONFER: What do you see as Roy-Hart’s greatest strengths?
HOCHREITER: It is without a doubt that the community, business leaders, elected officials and parents believe Roy-Hart is a community-minded District. Specifically, meaningful parent involvement is evident in the schools, the Board is committed to increasing outcomes for students, and families support the District in regards to programming and extra-curricular activities. This universal understanding that student’s achievement is directly linked to opportunities after crossing the graduation stage is paramount in continuous improvement. The right ingredients for creating and sustaining a highly effective District are evident in Roy-Hart: increasing achievement scores; community support; an acknowledgement and understanding that the needs and skills of today’s students to compete in a changing economy and workforce look far different from those that we armed with. This recognition is imperative to ensure that the next Superintendent continues this momentum and build Roy-Hart students ready to compete for their future, not our past.
CONFER: What do you see as Roy-Hart’s greatest weaknesses?
HOCHREITER: All schools are facing troublesome news regarding funding; Roy-Hart will be in the same predicament as nearly every other District. This is not a weakness however; this is an opportunity. I see the funding gap(s) as an opportunity to review program data, identify educational and organizational priorities with the community – not solely the Board, an opportunity to build a multi-year strategic plan, and an opportunity to truly seek and embrace reinvention strategies that high achieving schools are endorsing in the wake of the funding gaps. The “greatest weakness” perhaps is the urgency to create a comprehensive strategic plan, coupled with internal mechanisms to measure effectiveness of program(s) and efficiency of how dollars are allocated to support such programs. All districts are faced with making decisions on programming and staffing; having a well-developed and well-communicated roadmap with credible and substantial data to make the most appropriate decisions becomes a challenge if this information has not been widely documented. A staple of our reinvention efforts in Elmira was the process of creating such a roadmap for the District. I invite you to visit, http://www.elmiracityschools.com/leadershipweek.cfm, to learn more about our planning process as well as view our strategic plan for 2008-2009 at http://www.elmiracityschools.com/uploadeddocs/Education.Plan.pdf.
HOCHREITER: I was born and lived in Syracuse for the first four years of my life; and grew up in Brockport, NY. I graduated from Niagara University with a degree in Inclusive Education. While at Niagara I had the opportunity to serve as Captain of the Men’s Division I Tennis Team for two years and be named an NCAA Division I Academic All-American. I also completed my Master’s Degree at Niagara in Educational Administration. Currently, I am writing my Dissertation to complete my Doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Rochester.
I have been blessed with relevant and rigorous experiences in Education. Both parents being educators, I knew as a middle schooler, that I had a passion to share, teach and guide young people. This prompted me to begin giving percussion lessons to young musicians in the Brockport area as I progressed through High School years. The basement was converted to a Percussion studio where I gave over a dozen lessons to students each week. It was this same passion that led me to my certification in Special Education, Elementary Education and Social Studies at Niagara. Throughout my college summers I was employed by the Monroe 2 – Orleans BOCES as a Special Education Aide for their Summer Programs and eventually as a classroom teacher. I began my teaching career at Greece Olympia High School, outside of Rochester before moving to the Dansville Central School District as a Middle School Assistant Principal and shortly thereafter High School Principal. I served in this post until April 2006 before moving to the Elmira City School District as the Deputy Superintendent of Schools. Beyond these experiences, however, have been many mentors and supports that have helped shape my philosophy, vision and fueled my career path. One such individual is Dr. Bill Daggett, President of the International Center for Leadership in Education – ICLE (http://www.leadered.com ). I have been fortunate to be a part of his organization’s research, implementation of reform efforts and use of data to change outcomes for students in some of the nation’s toughest, poorest school systems. I have attended and presented at multiple conferences and worked with schools in 15 different states on their personal school reform planning and visioning. Without a doubt, these experiences have helped me personally and professionally work with communities and staffs in reforming and reinventing schools by accessing best practices from the nation’s top performing schools.
CONFER: How would you describe your style of leadership…both in the school and in the community?
HOCHREITER: Collaborative, consensus-building and data-driven. In my current and previous posts, I have built trust-worthy relationships with stakeholders and modeled these characteristics. Be it meeting with Teacher-Leaders, working with a group of Principals or representing the District in the community, I stand and consistently model these characteristics. My current position demands that I spend significant time in schools working with Administrators and Teachers reviewing data, setting school targets, developing school-specific strategic plans and leading programmatic updates on district initiatives. At the core of these discussions and decisions lies my commitment to moving forward by identifying and adapting work of effective schools nationally in tackling problems we are battling locally. I firmly believe that these characteristics, combined with the relationships I have forged in the schools have supported the outstanding academic and programmatic gains Elmira has made in three short years. Few districts in the State have demonstrated such significant growth in a three-year window as Elmira has.
As a resident of Elmira, I proudly serve on numerous community committees and boards. In my current post, and certainly as a Superintendent, I believe it is vitally important to not only live where you work but become involved in where you live. To this end, I have continued to play an active role in the Rotary Club and will be named to its Board of Directors later this Spring. I also serve on the YMCA and United Way Leadership Boards developing programs, identifying support mechanisms and championing the service they provide our young people and community at-large. One of the most important public initiatives I remain involved with is Pipeline for Progress (P4P), (http://p4pnetwork.com) an organization aimed to recruit and retain young professionals to the Twin Tiers and Southern Tier of New York. I have worked with this organization for the better part of two years working with our high school students and area business and industry to highlight the local workforce needs, salary potential and affordable cost of living in the region. Moreover, P4P has partnered with similar organizations in Rochester, Buffalo and Albany to identify strategies to confront the growing “Brain Drain” in upstate New York. Lastly, I serve on the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Education Roundtable, a group of business, industry and education officials working together to bridge the gap between school curriculum and the demands of the real world. In short, by the end of 2009, nearly all of the high school teachers in Chemung County – over 350 teachers – will have attended a business tour in a local company to immerse in the demands and needs to tomorrow’s workforce. A tour of the facility and discussion with the company HR office led to a catered lunch and guest speaker from the Chamber of Commerce speaking to the local industrial needs and desired qualities in the workforce. The afternoon of these tours was capped with a lesson plan and assessment development process challenging teachers to apply their learning from the morning to providing more relevant student experiences while meeting the increasing demands of the State Standards.
CONFER: What attracted you to the Royalton-Hartland District?
HOCHREITER: Before applying for the position and even being selected for an initial interview in December with the Board of Education, I have spent considerable time in the area speaking with residents, business owners, elected officials and neighboring administrators. Personally, I find it important that I have a sense of the demands and needs the community place on the district and what skills and characteristics they desire in a Superintendent. This position is about fit; that I am a fit for the District and that the District and community are a fit for me. I plan to relocate and live within the District, making this fit more important for me. This is imperative as Roy-Hart will not just be my employer, it will be my new home. To this end I have spoken to parents to understand their experiences with the District and what they are looking for out of their Superintendent. All of this feedback has reassured me that I am good fit to meet these needs and challenges and that Roy-Hart is a great fit for me to make my new home.
I believe there lies a great opportunity for Roy-Hart to become a signature district in not only Niagara County and Western New York, but New York State and beyond. My experiences in Dansville and Elmira have led to State and National recognition regarding student achievement, teacher leadership and strategic planning processes. Elmira schools have presented at national conferences in Washington, DC and Orlando and been recognized in Albany by the State Education Department. We are in the planning process of our two Middle Schools will playing host to dozens of teachers in October 2009 when the State Middle Schools Conference heads to Watkins Glen, NY, 30 miles north of Elmira. These successes and experiences coupled with an already high achieving Roy-Hart can begin a conversation about continuous improvement and breakthrough performance. Roy-Hart’s success on grade-level assessments and SAT assessments speaks volumes of the leadership in the schools and creative staff to push students to both higher and deeper levels of understanding. The role of the next Superintendent is to continue this success and add to it, based on the new Superintendent’s experience in increasing outcomes, developing unique programs and support teacher-leadership. At first I believed; now I know that Roy-Hart is poised for such dialogue and leadership from their next leader.
CONFER: What do you see as Roy-Hart’s greatest strengths?
HOCHREITER: It is without a doubt that the community, business leaders, elected officials and parents believe Roy-Hart is a community-minded District. Specifically, meaningful parent involvement is evident in the schools, the Board is committed to increasing outcomes for students, and families support the District in regards to programming and extra-curricular activities. This universal understanding that student’s achievement is directly linked to opportunities after crossing the graduation stage is paramount in continuous improvement. The right ingredients for creating and sustaining a highly effective District are evident in Roy-Hart: increasing achievement scores; community support; an acknowledgement and understanding that the needs and skills of today’s students to compete in a changing economy and workforce look far different from those that we armed with. This recognition is imperative to ensure that the next Superintendent continues this momentum and build Roy-Hart students ready to compete for their future, not our past.
CONFER: What do you see as Roy-Hart’s greatest weaknesses?
HOCHREITER: All schools are facing troublesome news regarding funding; Roy-Hart will be in the same predicament as nearly every other District. This is not a weakness however; this is an opportunity. I see the funding gap(s) as an opportunity to review program data, identify educational and organizational priorities with the community – not solely the Board, an opportunity to build a multi-year strategic plan, and an opportunity to truly seek and embrace reinvention strategies that high achieving schools are endorsing in the wake of the funding gaps. The “greatest weakness” perhaps is the urgency to create a comprehensive strategic plan, coupled with internal mechanisms to measure effectiveness of program(s) and efficiency of how dollars are allocated to support such programs. All districts are faced with making decisions on programming and staffing; having a well-developed and well-communicated roadmap with credible and substantial data to make the most appropriate decisions becomes a challenge if this information has not been widely documented. A staple of our reinvention efforts in Elmira was the process of creating such a roadmap for the District. I invite you to visit, http://www.elmiracityschools.com/leadershipweek.cfm, to learn more about our planning process as well as view our strategic plan for 2008-2009 at http://www.elmiracityschools.com/uploadeddocs/Education.Plan.pdf.
