By JEFF MORRIS
Perhaps it is the fact that he came from the school district “right next door,” but after two months as superintendent of Katonah-Lewisboro and just a week after the school year started, Ray Blanch seems to be right at home.
After 14 years as superintendent of Somers Central School District, Blanch was brought in to succeed Andrew Selesnick, who announced his retirement last January.
Blanch’s hiring was the culmination of a search process that began in March with the Board of Education engaging the search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates. A month-long survey utilizing interviews, focus groups, open forums and online surveys was used to develop a profile of the type of leadership the district was seeking. After what the board described as “multiple rounds of interviews with a very strong group of sitting superintendents from excellent school districts with established records of success,” Blanch was announced as the new superintendent June 14.
Speaking with The Recorder this week, Blanch said he felt very much like he was fitting in. “It’s been very welcoming,” he said. “Everyone couldn’t have been more receptive, and it’s great to be here with the team.”
He noted that during the summer he had a chance to get to know the support and administrative staff and some of the Board of Education members, and was now getting to know some of the teachers.
Blanch said in education, in “this part of the state” with which he’s most familiar, there is a general caring for children, and that having children at the center of your thinking is something that is “very evident here right off the bat.”
While noting the Somers and Katonah-Lewisboro districts are similar in size — in 2023-24, Somers had a total enrollment of about 2,600, while KLSD’s was 2,792 — Blanch said one of the differences between the districts is KLSD has much more space between the schools from a geographical perspective. Demographically, though, he doesn’t see any significant differences between the districts, or among any of the districts in northern Westchester for that matter. He does see a general decline in enrollment being a common situation in most districts in the state, with a few exceptions in the larger cities.
Most of his prior contact with KLSD was through collaboration between superintendents. “We have a very strong professional network among the 18 districts that make up the Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES,” Blanch said, “so over these last number of years I’ve gotten to know Andrew (Selesnick) on a few different projects we may have been involved in for the collective area; as superintendents we tend to ask and share tips and tricks and best practices rather than getting into any great detail.”
Since joining the district, Blanch has promoted what he is calling the KLSD 2030 Project. He said it is just starting, and part of the conversation is to talk with different parent and faculty groups and students at the high school, discuss the strengths of the district, and then find “where do we see some of the opportunities for us to continue being the great district that we are, and bringing clarity to that.”
He said that will help them map out the desired steps for the next five years, and hopefully they will be able to unveil a plan by the end of January or early February.
“The idea with those different groups is, it’s really a co-created document and vision; it’s collectively where we need to go. It’s a wonderful school district with a lot of really creative people doing really great things for kids, and my best hope is to bring that voice together and make it strong.” Blanch said in his experience, this kind of plan takes anywhere from four to six years, hence the 2030 name.
Though he seemed somewhat reluctant to talk about himself, Blanch was coaxed to reveal that he has taken a circuitous route to his current position. Born in Buffalo, the seventh out of eight siblings — four sisters and three brothers — Blanch started his public education career in Colorado, when one of his sisters invited him to “come on out” because there were openings in that state at a time when teaching positions for college graduates were hard to find.
He started as a first- and second-grade teacher, but after he and his wife had four children, he decided to make the transition to administration, which resulted in a move to Wisconsin.
“The principal I worked for in Colorado also worked his way through from elementary teacher to administration, so maybe that was a model for me. It’s done well for me and hopefully for the communities I’ve served,” he said.
After being a principal in Wisconsin, Blanch returned to Colorado for a number of years, where he served as a principal, an assistant superintendent, a director and a superintendent, before landing “back here in Somers,” closer to his wife’s family in New Jersey while returning to his own home state.
For now, Blanch will continue meeting as many people as possible while he settles into a position in which he already seems quite comfortable.
On June 14, board president Julia Hadlock said, “We were impressed by his experience as a superintendent and his thoughtful leadership. He is committed to being accessible, visible and approachable. Colleagues describe him as an excellent listener and communicator who keeps student growth and success as the priority — all qualities identified by our community in the leadership profile report.”