Letters to the Editor can be sent to [email protected] with full name and town (which are published) plus contact info (not published). Letters should not exceed 500 words, and must be in text format (preferably Word); we cannot accept a PDF.
To the Editor:
When he arrived in Peekskill with his wonderful wife Kimberly and their young daughter, Iliana, Dr. David Mauricio did the one thing the best leaders do. He listened. But not just to the voices that came to him, he ventured out into the community to meet the people he would be serving. He learned who they were and asked how he could help. In his first year as Superintendent of the Peekskill Schools he had hundreds of meetings with community leaders and business owners, parents, students, faculty and staff of the schools, and many more. This pattern never stopped in the almost nine years that he has been Superintendent.
When he was looking for a home in the area, realtors he spoke with told him to look anywhere but Peekskill. So much misinformation about our schools and community had become the default view. Rather than complain, Dr. Mauricio organized regular meetings with area realtors and realty associations where he and others presented information about our schools to counter the prevailing negativity.
Every single week of the school year, Dr. Mauricio spends a couple of days visiting the schools. That may sound like a small thing, but as a teacher for 28 years, I can tell you how rare it really is. This dedication to walking the halls and dropping into classrooms to get to know students and staff is a choice that he made. And it paid off in the smiles on the faces of children throughout our district who actually knew (and know) who the Superintendent is, and the outstanding relationship he has with Peekskill’s educators, clerical staff, and facilities personnel.
The list of accomplishments, innovations, and improvements made during Dr. Mauricio’s tenure is long and impressive. But I prefer here to focus on the man I know. He leads with empathy rather than fear, making everyone he meets feel both relaxed and heard. And while he is a very capable and inspirational orator, he prefers to lead by doing. He also has a special ability that great leaders have to identify the person most capable of doing a certain job long before that person believes it themselves and then showing them that they have the inner strength, knowledge, and experience needed. At his core, he is a teacher.
If you ever wondered about his commitment to Peekskill, look no further than his decision to buy a home in our community and enroll his daughter in the Peekskill School District. And while family matters are causing him to move back to Buffalo, Dr. Mauricio’s almost 9 years as Superintendent is significantly longer than the typical 3-5 years. While we will miss him, Dr. Mauricio leaves our schools and our community better for his time here.
Samuel North
Peekskill, NY
