School Superintendent Dr. David Hamilton’s office is an unassuming affair.
A modest and tidy rectangular conference table is positioned at the center. A bookcase holding one laptop is pushed against a wall. A single row of ninth-grade student artwork lines the walls.
There is no executive desk, no full-length windows, in fact, it’s not even a corner office.
“I realized years ago that my primary job is meeting with people and talking with people. If they come into the office and the first thing they see is this gigantic cherry desk with a giant leather chair — I’ve minimized the conversation because the desk is all about me,” Hamilton said. “So I turned [my office] into a conference room because that’s the most functional. It just kind of fits with my philosophy of what my job really is. It’s not email — I can do that at home.”
As a seasoned educator, both in the classroom and in the office, Hamilton exudes an unassuming confidence, and works hard to remember how humbling it can be to be a learner.
“I’ve always believed in what I call the triangle: you need to be an administrator, you need to be a teacher and you need to be a learner. I try to always be doing something in all three corners of that triangle,” he said. “It’s easy to forget as adults how much risk is involved in learning because we get so good at the things we’re doing. We forget what it’s like to be a complete beginner.”
Hamilton described a time when he learned to play the ukulele.
“I don’t play any string instruments,” said the musician whose forte is with brass instruments. “I was out on a whim. I was driving by the House of Guitars in Rochester and there was a song on the radio where a guy was playing the ukulele and I thought ‘oh, that would be interesting.’ I’ve got music degrees! I play instruments! I stunk at the ukulele. Really, it was awful.”
But he gave himself a goal to fulfill — learn one song to play at his and his wife’s upcoming 20th anniversary ceremony where they would be renewing their vows. He carried it out.
“I think it’s really, really important to put ourselves back in the seat of learners and [remember] how vulnerable they are and how much risk they’re taking, how much faith and trust they put in their teachers … to say, ‘I don’t know and I’m willing to be bad at something for a while.’ I think, as adults, we forget what that’s like.”
As superintendent, Hamilton also knows that it is his responsibility to make himself a familiar face — and personality — throughout the district.
“It’s not about [being] visible for me, it’s about [being] accessible,” said Hamilton, who has already dropped in on sports practices and visited student groups like Key Club and the Durgee Junior High School Leadership Team (DLT). “I think it’s easy to be visible. It’s easy to walk through a crowd and wave your hand and somebody says, ‘Hey, I had a sighting of the superintendent,’ like your Elvis or something.”
Instead, Hamilton prefers going to school functions like football games or assemblies where he can directly engage with others. In fact, he did that on a regular basis where he previously served as superintendent of the Penn Yan Central School District. He said that type of environment provides the best opportunity to meet parents, answer questions and learn how they feel about school issues.
When asked what his vision is for the Baldwinsville Central School District, Hamilton responded with the same answer he said he gave during the interview process: “I don’t know yet. It’s not my district so it can’t be my vision.”
Currently, Hamilton is in the midst of holding meet-and-greets with everyone from students, teachers and the administrative board to the mayor, town supervisors and the state senator.
“When you listen to that many voices, you start to pick up themes and those themes tell me that’s a shared concern or shared area of pride for the district and that will help me get a sense of who we are and what our vision is.”
A little background
Hamilton earned his bachelor of arts from Ithaca College and his master’s in music from the Eastman School of Music. He holds a master of science in educational administration from Canisius College and his educational doctorate from the University of Rochester.
Hamilton previously served three years as superintendent of the Penn Yan Central School District and eight years in the Churchville Chili Central School District in several administrative capacities, including director of curriculum and assessment professional development, principal (grades seven and nine) and director for technology and fine arts.
He and his wife, Kelley, have two sons, Colin and Foster.
