Superintendent to leave district for new job

Dr. Erik Gundersen’s appointment as the next Suffern Central School District superintendent was approved by that district’s Board of Education at their April 20 meeting.

Jared Mitovich, Editor-in-Chief|April 20, 2021

Pascack Valley Regional website

Gundersen, a recent Bergen County Superintendent of the Year, has served as Pascack Valley Regional superintendent since 2011.

[Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a letter from Dr. Erik Gundersen and with a statement from the Board of Education.]

Superintendent Erik Gundersen will leave the Pascack Valley Regional High School District to become superintendent of Suffern Central School District. His appointment to the position, starting next school year, was approved by the Suffern Central Board of Education Tuesday night during a meeting held in-person and live-streamed.

“My journey in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District is coming to an end,” Gundersen confirmed in a statement emailed to the Pascack Valley Regional community Wednesday morning. “I am excited to share that I have accepted the offer to serve the Suffern Central School District as their new superintendent.”

Gundersen said he was grateful for the opportunity to serve Pascack Valley Regional as superintendent for the past ten years. He cited the implementation of virtual days before the pandemic, the creation of the “Pascack Schedule,” the internship program, and the expansion of classrooms and athletic fields as examples of what he was the proudest of. He also said he was grateful the district had begun to promote a “more inclusive, bias-free school culture and climate.”

“I will certainly miss working with the Pascack team, but am confident that Pascack has the talent, tools, knowledge, and drive to continue the district’s successful path forward,” he said, expressing gratitude to his colleagues.

Gundersen's statement to the Pascack Valley Regional community

Dear Pascack Valley Regional High School District Community,

As a twenty-two year old physics teacher, I was welcomed into the teaching profession by mentors who supported and challenged me to constantly reflect, refine, and improve as an educator.  Every step along my professional journey has been met with challenges, but with each challenge, there was always incredible support from those around me.  It is that sense of professionalism, mentorship, community, and support that has carried me through my journey as a member of the Pascack Valley Regional family for the past twenty seven years.

We are a district that prides itself on being forward thinking, with students at the center of our decision-making process.  Our willingness to take calculated risks to improve student outcomes, whether it be implementing virtual days six years before COVID, creating the “Pascack Schedule” to redefine the high school experience, providing internship opportunities for career exposure, improving and expanding our classroom and athletic complexes or, most recently, promoting a more inclusive, bias-free school culture and climate, have been real points of pride these last ten years.

My journey in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District is coming to an end after serving the last ten years as your superintendent.  I am excited to share that I have accepted the offer to serve the Suffern Central School District as their new superintendent, beginning July 1, 2021.  Suffern is also a district that prides itself on its innovative spirit, a highly talented staff, and ongoing desire to improve upon the social and emotional well-being of all students.

I am forever grateful for the opportunity to work alongside an unparalleled team of educators and staff as we have made impactful improvements to our programming, curriculum, facilities, and community.  We have carried out the district’s vision of promoting inquiry, innovation, and individuality and are making significant strides to promote inclusivity within our district.  I will certainly miss working with the Pascack team, but am confident that Pascack has the talent, tools, knowledge, and drive to continue the district’s successful path forward.

I look forward to learning how the district continues to embrace all students and strives to make them feel welcomed, challenged, and supported, just as you have made me feel welcomed, challenged, and supported these last twenty-seven years.

Gundersen’s tenure as Suffern Central superintendent will begin July 1, and his employment contract expires June 30, 2025. According to a news brief, his resignation from Pascack Valley Regional will be formally approved by the BOE at their meeting on April 26. BOE President Tammy Mollinelli and Vice President Joseph Blundo have contacted the New Jersey School Boards Association to “discuss next steps.”

It is not yet clear who will take Gundersen’s place as superintendent, but according to district policy, the BOE holds the responsibility of recruiting, interviewing, and approving a new superintendent. Barry Bachenheimer is currently Assistant Superintendent.

Gundersen has been superintendent of Pascack Valley Regional since 2011. He has been a part of the district for nearly three decades, including as a physics teacher at Pascack Valley, and he was the district’s Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment from 2009 to 2011. He is also a member of the League of Innovative Schools, which has recognized the district for its accomplishments in providing laptops to all students.

Over the past year, Gundersen has overseen the pivot to virtual learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the transition to hybrid learning last fall and the challenges of a school year without precedent. In addition, he received vocal praise and criticism from the community after the BOE voted to remove the Cowboys and Indians mascots at Pascack Hills and Valley.

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Suffern Central is a pre-K to 12 district that serves the Rockland County, N.Y., towns of Airmont, Hillburn, Montebello, Sloatsburg, Suffern, and Monsey. As its superintendent, Gundersen will be in charge of seven schools with an enrollment of over 4,500 students.

“I’ve always heard that Suffern’s had a tremendously dedicated team of educators. It’s an innovative place,” Gundersen said at the Suffern Central BOE meeting where his appointment was approved. “It’s a place that focuses on students first in recognizing that students’ success is to make it very personal and to make sure that that personal success is not just academic, but also takes place on the athletic fields, in the clubs, and making sure that students are emotionally and socially growing each and every year.”

Gundersen's statement to the Suffern Central BOE

Gundersen: Thank you very much for the honor of being named your superintendent of schools for the Suffern Central School District. I appreciate this more than you know. I’m a nearby resident of Allendale for quite some time and a longtime educator in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District just across the border in northern Bergen County in Montvale and Hillsdale for just about 27 years now.

In the interview process with the BOE, I truly understood what it’s like to be an educator at Suffern Central. Board members really talked a lot about the importance of tradition, community connections, and making sure that we are always ensuring, as evidenced tonight, that we have an incredibly talented team at Suffern Central.

I’m a collaborative, team-building individual. I’m only going to be a good superintendent if I make sure I’m listening to varying viewpoints… and celebrating the differences we all have and recognizing that it’s important for us to build consensus. That’s how we’re going to get stronger and stronger.

I’ve always heard that Suffern’s had a tremendously dedicated team of educators. It’s an innovative place. It’s a place that focuses on students first in recognizing that students’ success is to make it very personal and to make sure that that personal success is not just academic, but also takes place on the athletic fields, in the clubs, and making sure that students are emotionally and socially growing each and every year.

I am honored and thrilled to know this BOE finds my skillset a good match for Suffern… [Acting Superintendent] Weber has been so warm and forthcoming in the conversations we had just yesterday and getting to meet some members and administrators.

I can’t wait to get to know the students and teachers and administrators in the year to come. I look forward to working with all of you.

According to the Suffern Central School District Watchdog, the district has been looking for a new superintendent since March 2019 and has had an acting superintendent during that period, Lisa Weber.