The Oneida City School District Board of Education appointed Mrs. Mary-Margaret Zehr as its next superintendent of Schools at its Board meeting on April 6. Mrs. Zehr was selected after a multi- step review of candidates and thoughtful deliberation. This process concluded with a full-day visitation to the school by Mrs. Zehr and a community forum.
Zehr began her career in education 24 years ago as a social studies teacher in the Watertown and Copenhagen school districts before moving into educational leadership. She is currently the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction for the Watertown school district, and she was previously Superintendent of the Copenhagen school district. She has also held principal positions in the Beaver River, South Jefferson, General Brown and Copenhagen school districts.
Zehr is in the current cohort of the New York State Council of School Superintendents Future Superintendents Academy and has co-taught Educational Administration courses at SUNY Oswego. Zehr holds a BS in Elementary and early Secondary Education from SUNY Cortland, an MA in Social Studies and International Education from New York University and a CAS in Educational Administration from SUNY Oswego.
“I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity to come to Oneida,” Zehr said. “I look forward to learning about the district and the work taking place, and I’m excited to work with all the stakeholders in the community. It’s a great community and my family and I are looking forward to becoming part of it.”
Zehr and her husband, Jerry, have two children, ages 11 and 13.
“Mrs. Zehr has a comprehensive skill set and is demonstrated in her wealth of knowledge and experience,” said Board President Robert Group. “She is approachable, an excellent listener and communicator, optimistic and student-centered. Finally, she has a strong foundation in literacy education and in working with special education students. All that was important to us, and we are excited about the opportunity to work with her. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank the community for their participation and support during this process. A lot of people put in a lot of time to make this a successful search.”
A “Meet and Greet” to welcome Zehr and her family will be held at 6:30 p.m. April 19, prior to the board meeting, at the Costello Transportation Center.
For more information, contact Group at 315.363.2550.