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Chappaqua Superintendent Chooses Next Horace Greeley Principal

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. – Millennium High School Principal Robert Rhodes has been tabbed by Chappaqua Central School District Superintendent Lyn McKay as the next principal of Horace Greeley High School.

McKay will officially bring her recommendation before the board of education at its next meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 28. If the board accepts the recommendation, Rhodes will assume his new position on July 1.

“Mr. Rhodes has a passion for learning and for teaching students to pursue their own ideas,” said McKay. “From budgeting and long-term planning to curriculum design and professional development, he is well versed in the many facets of school operations and has a proven track record of putting students first and creating a learner-centered environment where everyone can succeed.”

Rhodes will be taking over for Andrew Selesnick, who was principal at Greeley for nine years before being promoted to assistant superintendent for leadership development and human resources on Dec. 1.

McKay’s recommendation comes after an intense search process that included interview committees and focus groups consisting of parents, teachers, staff and students. Rhodes was selected from 147 candidates who applied open position after advertisement was posted in The New York Times on Dec. 11.

Before spending 21 years as an educator in New York City public schools, Rhodes earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Science in 1990 from Sarah Lawrence College. He followed that up by earning a Master of Science Degree in Educational Administration from Fordham University in 1997.

The Ohio-native began his education career in 1990 as a math teacher at a small alternative high school in Jamaica, Queens. In 2003 he received Clark University's Secondary Educator of the Year Award and in 2008 was awarded a Cahn Fellowship designed by Teachers College to recognize outstanding principals. He currently lives in Brooklyn and has two children.

Rhodes has been the principal at Millennium in lower Manhattan’s financial district since its inception in 2002. The school was established in an effort to revitalize the area following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Millennium currently boasts 98 percent graduation and college placement rates. According to David Hayes, Chappaqua’s public information officer, 5,300 eighth-graders applied for 150 openings at the school for the 2011-12 school year.

Along with Rhodes, McKay may also bring a recommendation for Roaring Brook Elementary School's principal position before the board on Feb. 28. Both searches have been occurring simultaneously, with Roaring Brook’s process about a week behind.

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