Talking to a departing school administrator

An Oceanside schools administrator will leave the district this year. Robert Fenter, the assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and research is leaving to be the superintendent of the Cold Spring Harbor Central School District.

Fenter, 51, has been at Oceanside since 1988, when he started teaching social studies at Oceanside High School. In 1994, he became social studies supervisor and assistant principal at Oceanside Middle School, becoming principal in 2001. He left in 2009 for his current position as assistant superintendent. 

His last day at Oceanside will be June 30, and he will start at Cold Spring Harbor the day after that. The district will soon start the search for his replacement.
The Herald sat down with Fenter to ask him some questions about his past at Oceanside and his future at Cold Spring Harbor. These answers have been edited for length and clarity. 

Herald: How did you end up going to Cold Spring Harbor?

Robert Fenter: Over the course of the last year, I made the decision that I would like to pursue the opportunity of being a superintendent of schools in a district that I think would be a good fit for me. And so I took the opportunity just at the end of last year to apply for this position, and I went through a process for the last three months and I was finally appointed last Thursday [April 14].

Herald: So you say you want to explore the opportunities of being a superintendent? Why is that?

Fenter: I’ve learned so much in Oceanside over the course of the last 28 years about excellence in teaching, about creating programs that benefit students. I’ve seen what happens when people work together to achieve things go beyond what any individual could do. And I think like many leaders, we all hope that we have the opportunity to bring that style of leadership to another place and hopefully have an impact.
Now I’m going to a school district that has a stellar reputation, like Oceanside, that is high achieving. And I hope that what I’ve learned in Oceanside, and I believe what I’ve learned in Oceanside will help me to perhaps enhance and improve what are already outstanding programs there.

Herald: What have you learned at Oceanside that you’re going to take to Cold Spring Harbor?

Fenter: One critical element of leadership from my perspective is about team. And I’ve learned from my time in Oceanside that establishing high-function teams where people trust each other. Where they work collaboratively, that great things can happen. So I hope to contribute that to Cold Spring Harbor.
More specifically, Cold Spring Harbor is in the process of beginning a one-to-one rollout of devices, whether they be Chromebooks or iPads. They’re at that point where they’re just making those initial decisions and explorations. I have a lot of experience in that area and I look forward to contributing that experience we’ve had with iPads here to Cold Spring Harbor as well. So that’s kind of a specific thing that I believe I will be able to offer some insight and experience that might be helpful to them.