New Seaford Superintendent Settles Into Role

Nearly a month into his new job as Superintendent of Seaford Public Schools, Brian Conboy is still settling into his new role as the district's administrative leader. The 1979 Seaford High School graduate and 27-year veteran of the district he attended as a child expects the learning curve of being a superintendent to last a full calendar year, but is already hitting the ground running to tackle goals he wants to accomplish.

Conboy, who played football and lacrosse at Seaford High School, assumed the role of Seaford superintendent on August 1, replacing Tom Markle, who retired and moved with his family to North Carolina. For the last six years Conboy served as Seaford's Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Personnel K-12, and in this role was charged with completely overhauling the curriculum on the secondary level. He previously held positions as a classroom teacher, assistant principal at Seaford High School and principal of Seaford Middle School.

"Even though I have worked across the hall for the last six years as assistant superintendent until you sit in the chair you don't know exactly what you'll be dealing with," said Conboy in his office at the Seaford Manor School of his new role. "Even though I have been here a long time the first year is certainly going to be all new experiences but I'm excited about that."

While Conboy certainly has been busy getting ready to kick off his first school year as Seaford superintendent, one issue he will not have on his plate is an unsettled teacher's contract thanks to the school board approving a new deal in late June.  "It is a relief to have that done," said Conboy. "I am thankful for that but at the same time in the economic situation that we're in we have to make sure that we are going to be able to fund all those contracts going forward."

One of Conboy's top goals for his first year as superintendent is to continue the district's educational philosophy of infusing in all lessons what he calls "the four c's", which includes critical thinking and problem solving; communication; collaboration; and creativity and innovation. Conboy said these skills along with reading, writing and arithmetic help prepare students for the challenges faced in today's world in areas such as technology, environmentalism and globalization.

Seaford school board president Brian W. Fagan said he expects to have a solid working relationship with Conboy and thinks his familiarity from working and growing up in the district will be a major positive. "When you have someone who has a history with the district it is very important," said Fagan. "He brings a lot of insight."

Conboy was frustrated by the New York State Department of Education's decision this year to change the assessment scoring system, which resulted in many districts like Seaford seeing a drop in the percentage of students meeting state standards. However despite his displeasure with the new exams, Conboy is committed to seeing students exceed standards and he believes the district's curriculum is strong enough to achieve this.

"We have to make sure that our students are as prepared as they can be for these exams, but not by spending an inordinate amount of time in our classrooms prepping for exams," said Conboy. "If our curriculum is strong we should be confident before every test."