Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES’ Center for Educational Leadership invited former state commissioner of education Dr. Thomas Sobol to provide words of advice to public school superintendents who are new in their careers, my colleague Brian J. Howard reports today on the Yorktown page.

The center, whose goal is to develop and support school leaders by offering practical learning opportunities to support them in their roles, has been hosting an “Early Career Superintendent Seminar Series,� in collaboration with Bank Street College and New York State Council of School Superintendents. The program brings second- through fifth-year superintendents together with BOCES and Bank Street teachers and seasoned superintendents to discuss leadership development and school district improvement.

Dr. Sobol, now part-time professor at Columbia University, Teachers College, shared truisms related to leadership, such as “You learn as much from your mistakes as from your successes� and “Ethics begins with humility.� He also commented on the previous day’s visit to Columbia by Iran’s president by asking the new superintendents, “What would it be like to have Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on your board of education?�

It’s nice to be with people who are new like myself and hearing their perspectives,�said Yorktown Superintendent Ralph Napolitano, “as well as bouncing ideas off of veterans who are experienced and knowledgeable about the role of a superintendent.�