Meet the Principal

   Saint James School

          Office of the Principal

 

 

 

     AND THE TOP OF THE MORNING TO EACH
     OF YOU!

     It’s my pleasure to serve as the Principal at St. James Middle School, as we begin to transition from a Grade 4 through 8 middle school into THE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in the region!

     As the Principal at St. James I am completing my first TEN YEARS at St. James and I look forward to another ten, along with some new and exciting challenges ahead with the addition of the PreK program and our welcoming in many younger brothers and sisters from Kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms of St. Thomas Aquinas.

     This fall, we will transform into a PreK to Grade 6 school, with a variety of new changes and new staff in our building.

     A few important facts about me as a Principal, a parent, a husband, and as a person:

     I love coming to school each day – even in the summer! St. James has a special feeling and it’s a great place to learn! Time spent in the summer months helps us to design and ready the school for an outstanding Fall term, and that’s what it’s all about.

     Getting off to a great start each September is a key to our success! Our summer “Mid-Way Island” Summer Orientation program and our “Locker Load Nights” have been good to get us thinking about the year ahead and in making people feel at home, before the actual year kicks in.

     I was born and lived my entire pre-college life in Cortland, NY just 45 minutes North of Binghamton, where I attended St. Mary’s School and the Cortland City Schools, graduating in 1973.

     Having played on some good athletic teams over the years in Cortland vs. teams in the southern tier, I was lucky enough to have a number of coaches recommend colleges to look my way. Coach Robert Stevens was key as was UE Coach Fran Angeline. These guys opened doors for which I will forever be grateful!

     While football was my passion as a college kid, so too was completing my education at a first-class institution. Thus, I had a difficult decision in picking the Appointment at West Point or a spot at Temple.

     In 1977… I received a Bachelors of Science degree in Elementary Education from Temple University, where I was also a scholarship Football player and where I was elected and served as the President of the Temple Student Senate.

     Clearly, I had hundreds of great times and wonderful experiences while a student-athlete at Temple.

     As a professional educator, my career began in a classroom with urban boys who were all court committed and residentially housed, confined to an institution, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week by the Pennsylvania court system. After 6 months at “The Ranch,” I was offered a 4th Grade teaching and Freshman Basketball Coaching position at Clayton, NJ, a public school in South New Jersey – just across the bridge from Philadelphia.

     I then moved to SUNY / The State University of New York, for eleven years, ten at Cobleskill College in Residential Life & Housing, Summer Programs, finishing up with a year as the Director of Residential Life at SUNY Farmingdale on Long Island. While at Cobleskill, I completed a Masters Degree in counseling, secured my private pilot’s license and an FCC radio communication certificate, as well as the open-water scuba diving certification. I married my senior-year college sweetheart, served as a member of the Cobleskill area JC’s and on the National Ski Patrol for Scotch Valley/Deer Run.

     We moved briefly to North Carolina where I worked at East Carolina University (ECU) with Residential Life and with their scholarship athlete, taught the first year course “The Freshman and the University” and tutored and published booklets, brochures, info flyers, etc… for the Athletic Department. The Pirates were building a big-time football program and I was excited to be a positive contributor to it, from both the social & educational sides.

     For the next decade, we re-located to Nebraska where I worked as the Dean of Students at a historic and outstanding private liberal arts college, Doane College. As the Dean I had responsibilities ranging from Housing and Residential Life, to the Counseling operation, Campus Parking, the Judicial system, Intramurals, Peer Advisors, New & Transfer Student Orientation, The Freshman Experience course, Evening and weekend Student Activities, Greek Life, and more! The job was outstanding, while it left little or no time for matters of the heart, such as one’s family!

     While at Doane, I studied and researched during the summer months, completed a second Masters Degree in Educational Administration and Leadership at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

     Then, after two children who had arrived and who had reached school age, my spouse Eva, was ready to return to teaching and I was homesick for the snow and skiing of NY. It was also time for me to spend some quality time with the family unit, as a father. A trip to Ireland highlighted that need and shortly there after, we returned to upstate NY, where our two kids have now grown into young adults. Our daughter is in college at SUNY Cortland and an R.A. Our senior son, a Football playing musician, is headed for college this next fall.

     My wife Eva and I live here in Binghamton, about a 5-minute walk from St. James. We belong to the St. James Parish, and did so, before I became the school’s Principal. Eva is a teacher with the Binghamton City School system.

     Thus, we are both actively engaged in the continuous journey of learning and the issues of budget and what can and cannot be done to make the world a better place!

     We both are focused on improving and delivering quality education!

     I continue with playing music as a hobby, playing out with a good friend about once a month and with skiing. Skiing has been “my thing” except for the years when we were in graduate school, both on the snow as a National Ski Patroller at Greek Peak, and on the lake, with our boat that has the same manufacturing date as my graduation from Temple.

     St. James is a great school! We have outstanding people on the Faculty and our staff members, in most cases, have a direct connection to someone who has gone to school here.

     Both of our children are alumni graduates of St. James. Each of them have picked up outstanding positive academic work habits and ethic while they were here.

     We are all very excited about summer construction, not because of the dust, but because we know that with construction comes positive change and program improvements that we will be leading.

                                   George Clancy

     YOUR FAVORITE Principal