New Pelham Assistant Superintendent

The Pelham Union Free School District is set to have a new assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and personnel today. Steven Garcia is going to be appointed to the position at this evening's Board of Education meeting.

Garcia will be taking over for Peter Giarrizzo. Giarrizzo will be officially moving into the School District's superintendent position on July 1. Giarrizzo says Garcia is the right person for the assistant superintendent position.

“He is intelligent, articulate and a learner and will partner with me to bring our schools to the next level," said Giarrizzo. "He consistently demonstrated core values that focus on supporting a rich and challenging educational experience for all students. He believes in a collaborative approach with teachers, administrators, parents and all stake holders to achieve this goal.”

Garcia will be making the move to Pelham from Valhalla Middle School. At Valhalla, Garcia is the principal. He was chosen from a pool of 123 candidates who submitted their resumes. From there, the candidates were whittled down to 18. Of those 18, six candidates were interviewed by administrators, teachers and staff.

Garcia started his career as a high school social studies teacher at Archbishop Stepinac. From there, he moved to Walter Panas High in Cortlandt Manor. Garcia got has Doctorate in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. He received his certificate of Advanced Study in Education Administration from SUNY New Paltz.