In the fall of 2017, a new face emerged as the leader of the Pelham Union Free School District. Following the resignation of Peter Giarrizzo, Dr. Cheryl H. Champ took the superintendent position in Pelham. Before becoming Superintendent of Pelham Union Free School District, Champ was curriculum advisor for Sewanhaka Central High School District on Long Island. This June marked the end of Champ’s first school year as superintendent.

Champ’s first year as district superintendent proved to be hectic, in part because of the bond proposal. “The main focus for me ended up being a lot of the bond work,” said Champ.

The lengthy bond process has successfully commenced following the approval by Pelham voters. “We went through the process and selected our architect and construction manager to be with us for the duration of the project,” said Champ. “Now we start the design and preconstruction phase.”

By the end of the fall, the district will submit the proposal to the State Education Department. “They may send it back for corrections, and that’s very likely,” said Champ. She predicts that the earliest construction will begin in the summer of 2019.

In addition to the Hutchinson School reconstruction, the bond plan includes the addition of six new high school classrooms on the bottom floor of the building. The plan also calls for a turf renovation of the Glover baseball field complex and a facility renovation of two current high school science classrooms, one of which will be outfitted to be a science research classroom.

The implementation of six new high school classrooms on the ground floor is projected to be the first project completed. “My hope for the high school classrooms is that they will be done next year,” said Champ. “We haven’t made all of the final decisions about the order of projects, but I think this will likely be one of the first ones.”

The goal for the Hutchinson School reconstruction is more long term. “The goal is to have the building ready to open by the fall of 2022,” said Champ. “It would be about a two year construction of the building.”

Despite the large time commitment the bond entailed, Champ made time to visit all of the schools and interact with both the students and staff. Champ enjoyed visiting the elementary schools the most. “The last twelve years of my career before coming here were spent only in secondary schools,” said Champ. “It was exciting to be back in an environment in schools with kids from the whole age spectrum.”

Champ views the annual Pelham Memorial High School “Olympics” as a memorable moment in her first year as superintendent. In particular, one specific moment stood out. “After the tug of war, one of the students fainted,” said Champ. “To see all of the teachers and adults move around to provide privacy while they helped her; I was blown away first by the students and then by the staff… It spoke such volumes about the quality of our students and our staff.”

Champ was happy with the direction of the district when she arrived. “It matched my philosophy of what I thought education should be,” she said.

One of Champ’s tasks over the next year will be laying out a five-year plan for the district. “That’s the biggest thing I’m looking forward to, as far as going through that process, and figuring out the vision for the next five years,” said Champ. The current strategic plan is based around four pillars that have to do with 21^st century learning. Champ said these will likely be tweaked.

Champ is excited for the future of the school district. “This is such a great community and such a great school district,” said Champ. “There are many great things happening.”