At its meeting on April 12, the Bethlehem Central Board of Education is expected to appoint Raymond Nardelli as the district’s new Director of Technology. Nardelli, who is an experienced leader in education technology at the secondary and collegiate levels, will replace the district’s outgoing technology director, Dr. Sal DeAngelo, beginning July 1.
DeAngelo is leaving the district after seven years to become superintendent of the Chatham Central School District in Columbia County.
A search committee that included several district administrators, teachers, support staff, parents and a member of the Board considered dozens of applications from candidates nationwide. The Director of Technology oversees a professional staff of eight and more than two dozen student interns employed throughout the school year as part of the district’s Student Help Desk. The department provides technology, infrastructure, data systems, and support to 4,600 students and more than 800 faculty and staff districtwide.
Nardelli is currently the Director of Information Technology at Brewster Academy, a private boarding school in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, where he has worked since 2013. Prior to Brewster Academy, Nardelli served as Director of Academic Technology and Digital Media at Colgate University. He worked at Colgate for more than 13 years, until moving from New York to New Hampshire.
“I am excited to welcome Ray Nardelli to our district’s leadership team,” said Superintendent Jody Monroe. “Mr. Nardelli’s background is one that reflects successful leadership and teamwork in support of curricular innovation and the design of user-friendly, future-ready classrooms and learning spaces.
“He has a reputation for being team-oriented and for making things happen,” said Superintendent Monroe. “As we begin our Power of One Chromebook expansion in 2017-18, I am confident Mr. Nardelli’s skills and experience will be put to good use on behalf of our entire school community.”
The Power of One is a 1:1 personalized learning plan that is intended to provide every Bethlehem student in grades 3-12 with access to a Chromebook, beginning next school year. Chromebooks are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applications and documents being stored in the cloud.
Superintendent Monroe said Nardelli will be coming from a school, Brewster Academy, that has been on the cutting edge of personalized learning, with a 1:1 computer program that began in 1996. In addition to managing and maintaining hundreds of student- and school-owned computers, Nardelli initiated and led a complete overhaul of the school’s network infrastructure to provide a more reliable and robust computer network for students and staff.
“I am really looking forward to be moving to Bethlehem Central, a district with such a fine reputation, and getting to know the community to determine how to best provide high level IT services,” said Nardelli. “I am eager to take the baton from Dr. DeAngelo and continue the great work that he and his staff have been providing.
“With my wife Laura’s roots in the Albany area, it will also be great to be back around friends and family,” said Nardelli.
Board of Education President Matt Downey said Nardelli’s thirteen-plus years of experience at Colgate University lends a unique perspective to the important role of running Bethlehem’s technology department.
“At the heart of our mission as a school district is to prepare our students for college and career as best we can,” said Downey. “Mr. Nardelli knows better than most what top colleges expect from our students and how to give them the tools they need now to succeed later on.
“We look forward to having him on board to assist in this mission,” said Downey.
Nardelli’s appointment will be effective July 1, 2017.