Hauppauge educator to lead statewide group of superintendents

Hauppauge Union Free School District Superintendent Patricia Sullivan-Kriss has been named president-elect of the New York State Council of School Superintendents.

Sullivan-Kriss was tapped for the role in the 800-member, Albany-based professional organization on July 1, after serving as treasurer and vice president on the executive committee, said Robert Reidy, the council's executive director.

"Pat's very knowledgeable, she's very engaged with our organization and she's committed to developing and supporting educational leaders," Reidy said in an interview last week.

Sullivan-Kriss, of Rockville Centre, said in a statement that she was "honored to have the privilege to represent my colleagues as an advocate for their work with children" in New York.

The council, composed of superintendents and assistant superintendents across the state, was established in 1883, Reidy said. It focuses on professional development and education advocacy, he added.

Sullivan-Kriss, who has been a council member for a decade, said the position will enable her to meet regularly with state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia and local legislators to discuss issues such as the implementation of Common Core, education funding and the development of a fair teacher and administrator evaluation system.

"It is essential to have the voices of superintendents as part of the decision-making process, as it is superintendents who understand the implications of these critical decisions on the students and communities that we serve," Sullivan-Kriss said in a statement.

She is in her 10th year as superintendent of the Hauppauge district, which has about 4,000 students.According to her resume, Sullivan-Kriss is a former assistant superintendent in the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District and the Carle Place Union Free School District, and was a special education teacher in the Rockville Centre Union Free School District.

Her resume shows that Sullivan-Kriss earned a master of arts degree in educational leadership and administration from LIU Post in 1983, a bachelor of science degree in special education from the University of Delaware in 1977, and that she completed doctoral coursework in educational administration at New York University in 1984 and 1985.