Superintendent Announces Leadership Changes for Athletics, Physical Education and Health

Superintendent Announces Leadership Changes for Athletics, Physical Education and Health

(The following was sent to the school community on Thursday, June 6, 2024 by Superintendent Drew Patrick..

Cindy Parrott is the new athletic director at SHS.Dear Scarsdale Community,

I am writing to share with you all some important information regarding the leadership and organization of our Athletics, Physical Education, and Health department. As many of you know, our athletics program has grown significantly in recent years with the addition of programs and teams. This year, to better support this growth, we have added a second part-time Assistant Athletics Director and also engaged SHS Vice Principal Chris Welsh to provide additional administrative support. This has provided valuable insight into the needs of our programs, but we find ourselves at a crossroads with the upcoming retirements of both Joe DeCrescenzo (deserved retirement) and Chris Welsh (also deservingly moving on to serve as Principal of Eastchester High School). As such, we have made the decision to narrow the scope of Ray Pappalardi’s duties to focus solely on Physical Education and Health, and I am recommending that Cindy Parrott serve full-time as Director of Athletics and focus solely on that program. Jeff Weigel will continue to serve as the sole High School Assistant Athletic Director next year, and Kevin Romer will continue in that role at SMS.

For those of you who do not know Cindy, she has been on the faculty at Scarsdale Middle School since 2003, during which time she has successfully led both the middle school math department and the CHOICE program. She has also served as a coach, been an athlete herself, and is the parent of an NCAA athlete. Cindy is excited about the opportunity to lead the athletics program and build on the historic success our student-athletes have had in the 2023-24 school year. Please join me in congratulating Cindy when she is officially appointed at the June 10, 2024 Board of Education meeting. I would also like to thank Ray Pappalardi for his many contributions to the athletics program over the past nine years, especially his advocacy and leadership that has led to the expansion of opportunities for our teams and students. I know he will continue to successfully lead our physical education and health program while keeping the students at the center.

As a reminder, the process of identifying Cindy’s successor within CHOICE and the Department of Mathematics is already underway, and we look forward to a successful conclusion to these searches with appointments and announcements to be made in the near future.

Finally, we want to let our students entering 9th grade, those returning to high school, and their families know that our Fall Sports Information Meeting is scheduled to be held on Thursday, June 13th at 7pm in the Scarsdale High School Auditorium. Ray and Cindy will be in attendance along with the coaches to provide important information regarding the fall season. For those considering trying out for a fall sport, this is a great opportunity to meet the coaches and other athletes.

Sincerely,
Drew