Top Long Island school district superintendent announces retirement

Standing in front of a packed auditorium full of returning and new staff members, Jericho schools Superintendent Henry Grishman announced on Monday that this school year will be his last.

Grishman, who is entering his 30th year as superintendent over the Jericho school system, said he believes he is the longest tenured superintendent in the state.

"To every story there comes an end," he said as he informed the staff of his decision to retire at the end of the school year.

Grishman, 79, said he feels the time is right to leave the position he assumed in 1995. His last day will be June 30, 2025.

"I think in everyone's career, you realize it's time to step aside, spend more time with family, and pursue other interests that were put off by the work of a superintendent," Grishman said in an interview before the announcement, adding he plans to do more photography, golf, travel and volunteering.

Grishman broke the news of his departure Monday morning to several hundred staff during orientation for the upcoming school year. He said he wanted to make the announcement now to give the board of education ample time to find a replacement.

"He's given the community so much," said Aristea Kakounis, a social studies teacher and vice president of the school's teachers union. "We might be losing him in the day-to-day, but everything he has established here will keep going."

Jericho will be the first Long Island district to commence classes, starting on Wednesday. Many districts begin Sept. 3, the Tuesday after Labor Day.

Grishman also sent out a letter Friday morning to the district community, explaining his retirement while reminiscing about his time in Jericho.

"His educational philosophy, his warmth, has permeated through the whole district," said Jill Citron, vice president of the school board. "He takes such pride in every aspect."

Grishman, who earned an annual salary with benefits of $359,193, leaves Jericho, with some 3,400 students, regularly cited among the top districts on Long Island, the state and nation. 

Looking back, he spoke with pride of the decision some 20 years ago to open the enrollment in advanced AP classes to all students. The prior policy required a teacher to recommend a student, who often had to have earned a grade of A in a similar, prerequisite course.

"We removed the roadblocks," he said. "We are now offering 27 AP courses, and far more students are taking them and succeeding."

He also cited the $100 million the district invested in building renovations during his time. Grishman was the 2012 New York State School Superintendent of the Year. Grishman also said he took pride in not taking a raise since 2011.

Grishman began his career in education as an elementary school teacher in 1967 and later was a middle school mathematics teacher. He held posts as an elementary and a middle school principal before serving as a superintendent, according to a district biography.

His first administrative position was as an elementary school principal in 1972 in Yonkers, where he grew up.

Since 1978, Grishman served as superintendent of four school districts before taking his post in Jericho in 1995. Next June, he will have served a total of 47 years as a superintendent of schools in New York State, the biography said. He served on several local and state committees, including past president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents.

Grishman also credited his wife, Jill, a retired teacher in the Wantagh district, two sons and five grandchildren.