A conversation with incoming NEN Superintendent Dr. Dave Moyer

On Wednesday, October 18, the Northport Journal spoke to soon-to-be Superintendent of Schools Dave Moyer about his upcoming role in the district, why he chose to join the Northport-East Northport (NEN) community, his leadership style and the many challenges facing the district right now. Moyer has been serving as superintendent of the Arlington Central School District in LaGrangeville, New York, for the past two years. He has 26 years of experience as a public school administrator, including 14 as a superintendent, and has held numerous other roles including assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, and athletic director. He was also an English teacher.

Moyer and his wife Donna, who have five children together, are planning on joining the community as residents in the coming months; Moyer will assume his role as superintendent of the Northport-East Northport school district on January 1, 2024.

A chance to make an impact
When asked about what attracted him to the NEN district and motivated him to pursue the superintendent position, this is what he said:

It’s a great opportunity - anybody would view it that way, I think. When I talk with the board members, they talk about wanting to look into the future…to create a plan, develop systems to support that plan, and try to figure out where we can work together with the community, and serve kids with an eye toward the future. 

I think that I have a skillset that lends itself to that type of mindset, so it’s very exciting for me to have an opportunity to feel like I can be in a district that’s student-centered, be in a district that’s forward-looking, and I think that I have a chance to make an impact there. Of course, you always want to be somewhere where you can make an impact. My wife and I are also very attracted to the community. We found a place where we’re going to be able to walk around and take advantage of the downtown and the waterfront. I grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which is on Lake Michigan, so that’s appealing to me and in my nature. We think that in addition to this being a place that I can make an impact professionally, it’s a place to live and enjoy our lives from a personal standpoint.

Get a feel for the place
Moyer articulated his plan to spend time getting to know and understand the community when he first begins his work. When asked what he hopes to accomplish during his 3-and-a-half-year contract, he said the following: 

This is a difficult question to answer because you can read about things online and you can study different things, like what programs are in place, or get a feel for what’s being celebrated with the website or the types of things that are being highlighted by the district, but you don’t know for sure what the needs are of a place or what the people are proud of or feel is successful until you get in there, and you talk with people and start meeting with people. 

I think it’s premature to say that I have some type of preset idea of what we need to do, but philosophically, I’d like to make sure the focus is on students and that we build a system where we have high levels of collaboration, where we’re forward looking into the future and making sure we’re thinking about our kids’ needs. We’re preparing them for their future, not our past. 

First things first
When discussing what elements of the district should be addressed first, before moving forward and creating plans, Moyer said the following: 

What you really want to do is figure out how to create coherence in the system so that the board, district, school sites and classrooms are all on the same page, working toward the same objectives. We need to create a system where everybody’s moving in the same direction and there’s clarity about what you’re trying to accomplish, and then you allocate the resources to support the work. 

Sometimes you get to places where there’s a lot of well-meaning people doing really good work, but it’s not necessarily consistently moving in the same direction. For me, it’s a matter of taking a look at what’s going on, being clear about what we’re trying to get, and then making sure that we have systems in place to support that. 

Be sensitive to the needs of everybody
In his previous positions, Moyer said he’s used several modes of communication in order to reach not only students and parents, but all community stakeholders. Here’s what he said about the importance of communication and how he’s handled it in the past:

You have to work together with the board and the communications people, and it may be necessary to think about doing some formal community engagement. There are some different types of ways to create a formal community engagement program that helps ensure that everybody feels they have a chance to have their voices heard. I try to be involved in all aspects of the community. I think sometimes when you think about schools you think about kids and parents, teachers and employees – but public schools are a community entity and the majority of the people in the community don’t have kids in school. So you have to really be sensitive to the needs of everybody you’re serving because they all want strong public schools, in one way or another they all benefit from that, but they all have different points of view and different perspectives in what they think that means. 

I get very active in things like the Chamber and the Rotary; I go to a lot of the ball games and school performances and things within the community, and I think that it’s important that people see me in those types of situations so that they know who I am and understand what the school district is about. I think that one of the mistakes that school districts often make is that they go out to the community when they need something from them or want something from them, and I believe that you have to invest in establishing the rapport and building up some credibility so that the dialogue with everybody is an ongoing dialogue, it’s not specific about an issue when you need something – it just has to be ongoing. 

You want to try to take control of the narrative and you want to make sure that people truly understand what’s going on in your district and the experiences the kids are having. Because when they don’t have information, then they start to fill in the gaps with things that may or may not be accurate. I think that the best way to do that is through multiple means of communication because people like to receive communication differently. Sometimes a website, for example, serves as many people’s first impression of the district and serves a certain purpose, but it doesn’t serve the only purpose. Some people like hard copy, a lot of people are active on social media, so I really think that you need to have multiple ways you’re communicating with people, and it needs to be ongoing and frequent. I think people gravitate toward video, so to tell stories and show people what’s going on, instead of always sending written communication can be very powerful.

Finding the balance
When asked about his leadership style and what qualities he’s bringing to the NEN district, Moyer said:

I think I’m a straight shooter, I don’t have agendas. I think that when people get to know me, they’ll see that they can feel comfortable interacting with me and that they’ll get honest answers to questions. I’m a big believer in the concept of “loose-tight.” When you talk about leadership style, I like to empower people to do their jobs, I like to support their personal growth, I like to make sure that they feel they have autonomy to make the decisions that they have the expertise in. But I like to make sure that we’re tight in the idea that we all have to work together to achieve goals, and we have to have a clear purpose on what we’re trying to accomplish. 

So you have to balance that. I’ve talked about being student-centered, but I also think you have to be very sensitive to balancing the needs of both the students and employees, or for example, your stakeholders and your internal and external people. You have a lot of different employee groups, you have a lot of different community groups, so I need to balance the needs of everybody, but do it in a way that I don’t lose track of our mission and what’s best for students. 

Significant, but not insurmountable
When asked about the many challenges currently being faced by the NEN district, including the potential sale/lease of district property, and the calls for fiscal responsibility and greater community outreach, Moyer said the following:

The one thing I will say is that those are significant challenges, but not insurmountable challenges. I think that when you take a look and do some long-range financial planning, and try to build some sustainability into your annual budgeting, and when you take a look at the pros and cons of the options available for the school sites, and when you involve the community in the conversation and get some general dialogue going, there will be things that will emerge that will be better decisions. People should be concerned about ensuring that we have solid budgets that can support the programs and remain sensitive to the taxpayers.

When you sit down and talk to the finance people, and the people on the committees, and you engage with the community that has these concerns, we’ll be able to come up with a plan. The reason why I feel comfortable going into this - I’ve been involved in major construction projects, I’ve had to balance budgets, I’ve had to close buildings, I’ve had to redistrict, I’ve had to do a lot of things that you’re in the middle of, or coming off, or moving into. I have experience in those areas, so I’m not really concerned about having things emerge that I haven’t dealt with before, as much as I am about trying to make sure we have enough information to do what’s right for Northport-East Northport. 

The extent of our relationship 
When asked about his prior relationship with BOE president Larry Licopoli and whether he was recruited for this new position, Moyer said this:

I came into Arlington and Larry was the interim. There was probably about a three or so week overlap of a time period when we worked together. He helped transition me to the district and helped me get familiar with some of the nuances of New York. So we worked together for that period of time and he was very helpful, we had a good relationship, and that was the first time I met him and is really the extent of our relationship, our time overlapped in Arlington.

I was not recruited [for this role]. I saw the vacancy on the superintendent vacancy notices and I applied. 

Hope to outwork this contract
Moyer signed a 3-and-a-half-year contract, but said staying in NEN longer would have the greatest impact. 

I hope to outwork this contract; I would like to stay there. I think that in order to do what you need to do in schools, depending on what it is, if you come into a situation and you’re new, and there are things you need to accomplish – schools are different organizations than other types of organizations – a lot of times it can take 5 to 7 or maybe even 7 to 10 years to truly make sure that the things you need to do become embedded and take hold, and start to get the results you're looking for. I think when you come into a new situation, ideally you want to stay a longer period of time than the 3-and-a-half years of this particular contract, and that would be my goal. 

See you in Northport
Moyer’s contract begins on January 1 and he’s expected to move into the area before then. Here’s what he said about getting started:

Technically I begin on January 1, but I guess we’re all going to be doing other things on January 1, so I come into the district on the 2nd and that’s my first official day. I was in last week visiting, and I really enjoyed the people. They were extremely kind and generous and genuine and welcoming. I’ve experienced when you’re the new guy and people want to make you feel welcomed, but I didn't feel like any of it was contrived, and I really appreciate that. The kids were impressive and I really enjoyed it. I’m coming back again in a couple of weeks to sign some paperwork with a realtor and I’ll be visiting some schools that I didn’t get into the first time. I do intend to be in the district periodically prior to the new year, trying to meet as many people as I can. 

And when I am in the district, Rob has been really kind. He’s reached out to me and talked with me a little bit, trying to help me get acclimated, so I’ve appreciated that and I think there will be some other opportunities like that. He’s certainly offered on a case-by-case basis, if I need something, to reach out to him. So I do have that resource available, prior to my getting there and even after I get there. 

Getting to know the leadership, the teachers, parents and all the different groups, that’s going to be my focus when I get there.