David Warner
Current Term of Office: July 1, 2022–June 30, 2025
Family: My wife, Angela, and I have lived in Hartsdale for 23 years. We are a diverse family, and we chose to come to Greenburgh after touring the schools and finding that here academics are respected and diversity is celebrated. We have one daughter who attended Greenburgh CSD schools from kindergarten through high school, graduating from Woodlands in 2014. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and is now working as a human resources professional for an investment firm. She is recently married and lives with her husband and their dog, Coda, in New Jersey.
Occupation: I am a retired software engineer. I have a BA in English, and an MS in Computer Science. I obtained a secondary school teaching credential in English in 1984 after student teaching in the Santa Ana school district in Southern California. I then chose to pursue a career in technology. Over the next three decades I became a technical editor, technical writer, and then software engineer, working for a Fortune 500 company (Unisys) and later Timeplex.
Community Involvement: As we progressed through our district schools, I volunteered for the school reorganization task force, Highview homework help, the Community Engagement Committee, and the PTA Council (VP and Treasurer). I was then elected to the board of education, where I have served as a trustee, including four years as vice president and three years as board president. I have chaired various board committees, including Community Engagement, Safety, Technology, Audit, Finance and Facilities. I have acted as liaison to the PTA Council and a delegate to the New York State School Board Association (NYSSBA). I also served on the WISE task force at Woodlands and mentored students.
Why did you run? I ran to finish the good work that is already in progress, and to improve the things that still need to be improved. See below.
What are the top three challenges facing our school district?
- Academic Achievement: Each learner is unique. Students may excel in one area and struggle in another based on both the subject matter and how lessons are taught. We must consistently provide an academically challenging and supportive learning environment for students at all levels of achievement, and with a variety of learning styles.
- Facilities: Our facilities are in need of repair or replacement, our state aid ratio is low, and lobbying efforts for foundation aid reform have been unsuccessful so far. The taxpayers of our community cannot afford a large bond to rebuild everything as evidenced by the failed school consolidation bond vote in 2019.
- The Future: The world our children are growing up in is not the world their parents grew up in. Traditional academics are essential, but they are not enough. We must prepare our students to become adults who can compete in a global, diverse, technologically complex and ever-changing society without sacrificing their identities or their humanity.
How would you like to address those challenges?
1. Academic Achievement: We need to consistently provide academic rigor and support for all students. We must implement programs, measure outcomes, and adapt what we do for our students based on those outcomes. We need to ensure adequate professional development for our teachers to support this process. We have implemented an Advanced Learning Program (ALP) in ELA, math, and science for grades 2 through 6 associated with academic and cognitive aptitude tests. We are also using the Response To Intervention (RTI) model to provide varied levels of support in ELA and math, that includes six-week checkpoints. We have implemented the International Baccalaureate (IB) program K-12. This includes an IB Diploma Program at Woodlands, featuring rigorous history, ELA, science and math courses and corresponding examinations. Last year 68% of our Seniors had taken one or more IB classes. We are also providing an ACT preparation course. We have worked to make up for the interruption in schooling and isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have dedicated a block of time after school to make teachers available for homework help for all classes. We have incorporated principles of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in all schools.
2. Facilities: Rather than rebuild, we will fix what we have, engage the community, complete many small projects instead of attempting one large one, and seek alternative sources of funding wherever possible. We are making significant progress with this strategy, and we currently have many projects in various stages of completion:
- Projects at or near completion: ventilation improvements at all schools, the East wing Highview roof, the RJ Bailey auditorium and roof restoration, gym floors and bathrooms at Woodlands, and the mansion roof.
- Projects in progress: Energy Performance Contract (at no cost to taxpayers) with new boilers, new lights, HVAC equipment, solar panels and a Battery Energy Storage System; Woodlands security vestibule; Highview windows.
- Projects financed, awaiting NYS design approval: roof replacement for all schools, tennis courts, and track, Science Lab gas service and eye-wash stations.
- Projects in early design stages or that need additional financing: Woodlands Science lab renovations, Woodlands water main replacement.
3. The Future: Address changing technology by promoting Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics (STEAM) offerings. We have introduced a host of new coursework in these areas, and now need to participate in nationwide science research competitions to show our progress and identify areas for improvement. Address global diversity by teaching foreign languages and cultures at both elementary and secondary levels (currently Mandarin and Spanish). Address character education through teaching the International Baccalaureate (IB) learner profile virtues (including being kind, open-minded, reflective and principled). We offer a Digital Citizenship course to help students deal with our social-media saturated culture, and the ethical uses of Artificial Intelligence. We have ensured the IB Diploma program is implemented with fidelity and our teachers are trained to teach rigorous IB coursework. At the secondary level, the IB Diploma program adds a Theory of Knowledge course, which will ensure that our students will be self-aware and self-directed life-long learners. To put these ideals into practice, under the CAS portion of IB, Woodlands students complete a two-year project in the areas of Creativity, Action, and (community) Service. To give students experience with independent learning, we offer the WISE program, where they choose their own project and mentor, perform research/ internship activities, journal their experiences, and present what they’ve learned to a panel of teachers and peers.
