Baldwin Schools Superintendent Wins National Award
Congratulations are due to Dr. Shari Camhi, Superintendent of Baldwin Schools, for being named one of 24 superintendents nationwide (and one of only two in New York State) as “Superintendents to Watch” for 2015-2016 by the National School Public Relations Association. This program recognizes superintendents who are using dynamic leadership and strong communication in innovative and effective ways. They engage and inform their school communities with new communication technology tools combined with tried-and-true techniques.
The NSPRA is a professional organization dedicated to building support and trust for education through responsible public relations that leads to success for all students. You can learn more about the award at http://www.nspra.org/superintendents-watch-winners.
Taking inspiration from a BOCES initiative to increase communication between the schools and parents, Dr. Camhi played an instrumental role in forming a Community Coalition to open communications with the various Baldwin organizations. The school district provides support by hosting the meetings and disseminating information important to all Baldwinites.
Dr. Camhi’s background in technology has played a major role in what she has accomplished so far. A new district website was unveiled in September 2015. The innovative site has many features that had previously been missing or underused, including teacher pages, reports on individual and group student achievements, a regular news “shout out” from the superintendent, a mobile app, links to other community organizations, and translation capability for 12 languages, from Arabic and Chinese to Spanish and French-Creole.
Dr. Camhi also championed the creation of the Baldwin High School TV station, in partnership with Molloy College, as part of the New Media Academy. Students in the program are broadcasting news reports to their fellow classmates. The New Media Academy is the fifth academy (field of concentration) at the high school, along with the Law, Medical, Business, and Engineering/STEM Academies.
