And discover the part of the job that he likes best
The door to the school district’s administrative building is always locked. When the fourth-graders tapped on the door, they didn’t have to wait for a response. The superintendent opened it and welcomed them with a smile.
Wednesday was a snow day. But on Thursday the sun was shining and the wind was still. The eight members of the Cornwall-on-Hudson Student Council walked to the administrative building with their principal Darren Corsetti. They had come to interview the superintendent, who led them to a conference room in the basement.
Each student had written a question for Terry Dade, who has headed the Cornwall Central School District for the last two years. We learned a lot about him from the dialogue that followed.
When he was growing up, his favorite book was Where the Red Fern Grows. “We read it in sixth grade,” he recalled. “We wouldn’t admit it, but at the end the whole class cried.”
His favorite sport is football. He started as a six-year-old in the Ankle Biter Division and continued playing through his senior year in high school. He also ran track and cross country. Growing up in the nation’s capital, he rooted for the Washington football team.
When he came to the Empire State, he was told that he had to support a New York football team. So he became a Buffalo Bills fan – a choice that did not sit well with the young audience.
The kids asked about his postgraduate degrees and learned that he has two master’s degrees and is close to getting his doctorate. He needs to finish his thesis.
“Then I’ll be Doctor Dade,” he grinned.
When asked about his toughest decision as a superintendent, he referred to his arrival in 2020.
“What do you think it was?” he asked his young audience.
When the kids referred to COVID, Mr. Dade elaborated. That September he had to decide if kids would attend school or learn remotely. He settled on a combination of the two, and was pleased to offer more in-person education than many nearby districts.
Mr. Dade had been an elementary school principal.
“There’s nothing like it,” he told the kids. And Mr. Corsetti, sitting next to him, agreed.
As for his current assignment, he loves his job. “Even through tough times,” he admitted, “you remember why you do it. We have 3,000 students and no two of them are alike.”
One of the first questions was “What’s your favorite part of the job?” Mr. Dade flashed the smile the kids had seen when he opened the door. “Calling a snow day,” he told them. “There’s not a single email or angry phone call when you do it.”
In his last position, he had posted a video while canceling school for a day. When he came to Cornwall, he heard about his predecessor (Neal Miller) singing “A Crazy Little Thing Called Snow.”
That was all the encouragement that Mr. Dade needed.
