Though last spring was the beginning of his career as New Hartford school’s superintendent, it was far from the beginning of Mr. D’Apice’s history with New Hartford. Before Mr. D’Apice walked these halls as superintendent, he walked them as a student. He sat in these classrooms and went off campus for lunch, just like we do now. He described his experience coming back to the district in a different role, where many of his former teachers are now his coworkers.
“It’s surreal in some aspects, going back in time,” Mr D’Apice said.
Clarifying what the job of superintendent entails, Mr. D’Apice explained the substantial responsibility of his job.
“I have to wear multiple hats,” Mr. D’Apice said, “And drive a vision and mission for the school district to impact students– evaluating systems and structures in the school.”
Mr D’Apice said his current goal in his job is simply to listen and learn. He makes sure to communicate with and listen to teachers, students, and stakeholders in the district. He listens and observes so he can get an understanding of what is going well in the school and what could use improvement. He emphasized the importance of staying visible, popping into classrooms to say hi and getting to know the students. He Prioritizes visiblity at the elementary school, which he explained is because it is easier to form valuable connections with younger students who are still at the beginning of their school careers – kids always remember their elementary teachers, as they experience closer, memorable interactions.
These closer interactions are one thing that Mr. D’Apice misses from when he was a teacher, which was his job at a different school before he returned to New Hartford as superintendent. However, he likes that he can impact students on a large scale with his new job.
Mr. D’Apice pursued a career in education because of his love for working with kids, especially as a father of young children himself. He had great teachers as a kid, which was also a significant factor that inspired him to go into the field of education. He enjoyed his school experience; he played hockey and saxophone and was a dedicated student.
Mr. D’Apice is best described as a hard worker and a perpetual optimist. He worked hard in school to achieve good grades and continues to work hard now as superintendent. He described his position as having a heavy workload.
When he isn’t working though, Mr. D’Apice loves the outdoors and sports, playing hockey on Sunday nights and golf when he can. That being said, most of his free time is spent with his four young children.
“My hobby is my family,” Mr. D’Apice said.
Mr. D’Apice will work hard as superintendent to form valuable relationships and improvements to the school.
