Starks honored with Canastota Alumni Association’s Vincent V. Albanese Alumni Achievement Award
Jacklin (Jackie) G. Starks has served as District Superintendent of Madison-Oneida BOCES since 2003, leading an organization of 750 employees that serves nine area school districts and, through various partnerships, provides educational services to children and adults in three counties. In her work, she provides assistance and guidance to local school superintendents in the areas of finance, instructional programs, new laws and policies, facilities, curriculum planning and technology. She has experience in superintendent search consultation, labor negotiations, budget development, program development, community group facilitation and effective operation of student services. She also serves as a liaison to the State Education Department for local districts and for the BOCES itself, works closely with elected officials from the region, serves on multiple state-level committees, collaborates with other leaders and leads education reform efforts for the region.
Jackie is a lifelong Canastota resident. She graduated from Canastota High School in 1974 and spent many years of her career in education working in the Canastota Central School District before joining MOBOCES. She served as an assistant principal and principal of South Side and Peterboro Street Elementary Schools, and also as assistant principal at Roberts Street Middle School. Starks completed an administrative internship as the Assistant Director of Pupil Personnel Services in Canastota, and she also served as a district-wide speech/language pathologist for five years.
Over the years, Jackie has served on a number of community organization boards, including: Madison County Promise, Madison County Workforce Investment Board, Oneida County Youth Bureau, Morrisville State College Baccalaureate Nursing Program Advisory Board, the Madison County School Services Partnership, and the New York State Council of School Superintendents.
She also served as the chairperson of the District Superintendents’ Technology Committee and co-chairperson of Educational Leadership Mohawk Valley. She is a past recipient of the Canastota Alumni Association’s Educator Award and the Oneida Rotary Club’s Bill Fariel Award for Excellence in the Workplace and Community, and she was inducted into the Canastota Central Schools Wall of Distinction in 2012. In 2016, the Chief School Officers in the region awarded her the inaugural Devoted Service Award for her leadership, professionalism, and continued support for students. In 2018, she received the Oneida-Madison-Herkimer School Boards Institute’s Distinguished Service Award for her lifelong commitment to education.
Jackie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from SUNY Brockport, and a Master’s Degree and Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration from SUNY Cortland. She completed the Central New York Superintendent Development Program at SUNY Oswego and holds permanent certifications in School District Administration, K-12 Reading Teacher, and K-12 Teacher of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped. She has also served as an adjunct instructor at Utica College and SUNY Cortland.
Jackie is the daughter of the late Donald and Angeline (Guifre) Starks. She has one daughter, Kristen, also a Canastota alumnus. Kristen and her husband, Justin, live in Canastota with their three children; Lucianna, Joseph, and Cole, who attend Canastota Schools.