EAST SYRACUSE-MINOA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT – Dr. Donna DeSiato of the East Syracuse Minoa Central School District has been chosen as the 2021 New York State Superintendent of the Year.
This annual accolade focuses on the calendar year at hand, but its bestowing by the New York State Council of School Superintendents also takes into account a cumulative look at the selected educator’s entire career.
“It is truly an honor that I take extremely to heart with regard to the gratitude for our community, for our board of education and for all of the partnerships and relationships that we have that help us to be successful as a school system,” DeSiato said.
Throughout the application review process, candidates from across the state were judged on their leadership for student learning, their communication skills, their professionalism and their active community involvement.
About a month after being nominated in late June, DeSiato was informed that she had joined the exclusive company of the Superintendent of the Year finalists, a group whittled down from an applicant pool quadruple the size of the previous ones on average.
By mid-August, just before the start of her 17th year as ESM’s superintendent, DeSiato discovered that she had made it to the top of the heap.
“With a strategic planning mindset, relentless attention to detail, embrace of inclusionary practices and broad individual involvement, Donna proudly exemplifies the power of school leaders to bring meaningful change to our communities,” said Dr. Phyllis Harrington, the president of the state’s council of school superintendents.
The naming of DeSiato as the recipient of the recognition was formally recognized at the council’s Fall Leadership Summit in Saratoga Springs from Sept. 26 through 28, a set of days she called “heartfelt” and “exhilarating.”
More than 900 were in attendance for the summit, most of whom were superintendents, while the rest mainly belonged to other levels of administration within the state education department and various school districts.
The honor will be celebrated at the assembly’s Winter Institute in Albany from March 6 through 8 next year.
“We can think of no one who is more deserving of this award than Donna,” said ESM Board of Education President Debbie Kolod. “She is the quintessential 21st century school leader.”
Since DeSiato’s start in the district in 2005, ESM has introduced three five-year strategic plans, the state’s first career pathway courses in aviation, and the Spartan Academy, which is a tuition-free way for the high school’s students to earn college credits and eventually two-year degrees from Onondaga Community College in either computer science, math science or engineering science by the time they receive their regents diplomas.
The school district’s capital improvements, its nationally acknowledged STEM ecosystem, its New Heights program for special needs students, and the 10%-plus increase in its graduation rate have also stood as hallmarks of her time at the helm.
Before becoming ESM’s superintendent, DeSiato spent decades teaching and serving in a range of administrative posts in Syracuse City Schools.
She has previously been awarded the 2015 Margaret Ashida STEM Leadership Award by the New York State STEM Education Collaborative, the STEM Woman of the Year Award by the CNY STEM Hub in 2016 and the STEM Outreach Individual of the Year 2020 Award by the Technology Alliance of Central New York.
As the state’s Superintendent of the Year, DeSiato will be representing New York as its nominee for National Superintendent of the Year, a title the American Association of School Administrators awards in Nashville in February.
As its website explains, the New York State Council of School Superintendents is a professional and advocacy organization with over a century of service to school superintendents and assistant superintendents statewide. The council provides more than 875 members with numerous professional development opportunities, publications and personal services.