Newark principal to move to Geneva schools

Kevin Whitaker is expected to join the Geneva City School district next month as the district’s new assistant superintendent for school improvement and accountability.Whitaker’s appointment is slated for approval at a special school board meeting Thursday (Jan. 3) at 6 p.m. He replaces outgoing Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Lawrence Wright. Wright will leave the district at the end of January to join the Solvay Union Free District as superintendent.Whitaker is currently high school principal at Newark Central School. His appointment, if approved by the board, would begin in early February at an annual salary of $125,000, with a three-year contract expiring June 2016.“We are very excited to welcome Kevin to our district,” said Geneva City School Superintendent Trina Newton. “I have the utmost confidence in his abilities and firmly believe he will prove an asset to Geneva.”Whitaker was among four candidates interviewed for the post.After Wright’s decision to leave was announced in November, the Geneva school district opted to change the title of his position from assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction to assistant superintendent for school improvement and accountability. The change was made to better reflect both the intent and responsibilities of the position in today’s educational environment, explained Newton.Whitaker has a certificate of advanced study in administration from the State University of New York at Brockport and a master’s degree in teaching from Union College, Schenectady, as well as a bachelor’s degree in English from Union College. Before joining the Newark school district in 2003, he served for four years as assistant principal and mathematics administrator of Churchville-Chili Senior High School. Before that, he was assistant principal of Dake Junior High School in West Irondequoit. Whitaker also has over five years’ experience teaching language arts and English.