As students settle into the 2009-10 school year, parents can be rest assured the reigns of the Irvington Middle School have been placed in capable hands—the turnstile of administrators has ceased with the appointment of David Sottile and Joyce Chapnick, principal and vice principal respectively.

“There have been a lot of changes, some prior to me coming, for a variety of reasons,” Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Matusiak conceded. “These positions were interim and not meant to be permanent.”

Enter Sottile, who began his educational career as a social studies teacher, spending seven years at Arlington High School in LaGrange before accepting the position of assistant principal at East Chester Middle School, where he was employed for the last five years.

“The vetting process was particularly tough on David. We went through additional rounds,” said Matusiak. “Due to the turnover rate we wanted to make sure every person had a chance to weigh in.”

He was green lit and officially started July 1. He welcomed the stringent interview process. “Each step of the way it became more and more clear that this was a great place to be,” he said.

“I wanted to hit the ground running and build a strong, positive environment for our teachers and especially for the kids,” said Sottile. “Middle school is a very important bridge between elementary school and high school. We want students to explore new interests and teach them that adding rigor is a good thing, an exploration to become passionate about something they didn’t know existed.”

To achieve this goal, Sottile and Chapnick began communicating before July 1.

“We met and had multiple phone conversations prior to our start date. We work very well together and share a similar positive view of child development and teaching and learning,” said Chapnick, who spent the last three years as a teacher and facilitator at Irvington’s Dows Lane Elementary School. “With all of the support and positive welcomes by staff and parents I know it is going to a positive year for students, families, and staff.”

Chapnick said her philosophy matches Sottile’s, which makes for a solid team and strong leadership.

“It is our job as educators to ensure that every student is provided challenging, interesting, and satisfying work every day of his/her academic career. In addition to providing experiences of academic excellence for children, I believe schools should function to develop and support the social-emotional growth of children,” she said. “All decisions that are made should keep the child as the central focus, and we should constantly be asking: What does this mean for our students?”

The recession, however, has thrown a curve ball to the district. Administrators and Board of Education members, including new president Robyn Kerner and vice president Evan Eisland, have to keep a tight grip on spending.

“We will be impacted by the recession but we will do our best to impact the classroom as little as possible,” said Matusiak, noting the last budget only jumped by .18 percent, which was historic.

“This was an unprecedented increase. When I came six years ago, we had double digit increases.”

She noted that certain extracurricular activities and certain athletic positions have been lost. “Principals will be responsible for what programs will or will not be approved,” said Matusiak.

“It was certainly a different budget season because of the recession. Every district had to make cuts and we were no exception,” Sottile said. “Some clubs and activities will be cut but fortunately our core academic programs have not been negatively affected at this point. We still have a rigorous program in place.”