At its Nov. 18 meeting, the Rockland CSD Board of Education appointed Keith Lewis as the district’s interim superintendent. He has 31 years of experience in education and served 17 years as an administrator.

He will begin in his new role on Monday, Dec. 1, and serve as the interim superintendent through the end of the 2025-26 school year. During that time, he will assist the board of education with their search for the district’s next superintendent.

A letter from Interim Superintendent Keith Lewis

Dear Students, Colleagues, Parents/Guardians, and Community Members,

My name is Keith Lewis, your new interim superintendent. I would like to take a moment for a quick introduction. On Nov. 1, 2023, I retired as superintendent of the Lackawanna City School District with more than 34 years of New York state service. During my six years at Lackawanna, I led and oversaw the following accomplishments:

• Strongest finances in over 5 decades
• Hired more than 150 new staff members districtwide
• Re-established 8 AP classes and a total of 18 college credit-bearing classes
• Established 1-to-1 technology where each student has their own device
• Initiated a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classroom in each school building
• Recognition as a National STEM Pathway District
• Lowered classes to 14-21 students per class, depending on grade level
• Added significant support for social-emotional learning
• Increased much needed personnel for Academic Intervention Services (AIS) and Response to Intervention (RTI)
• Enhanced the before- and after-school programing
   

This is just a sampling of the improvements that were achieved during my tenure at Lackawanna.

I'd also like to share a few personal items about myself. I believe in honesty, integrity, longevity, hard work, and doing the best you can each day with a positive attitude. My wife and best friend, Lisa, and I have been together for over 38 years, and we just celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. She is an amazing woman who continually inspires me. We have two sons. Zachary, our oldest, is a physician assistant, while our youngest, Jacob, is a full-time firefighter. We are very proud of both young men.

As your new Interim Superintendent for the Rockland Central School District, I am excited to meet and work with the Rockland faculty and staff to make sure that we continue to deliver an outstanding education to your children for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year. The students deserve our very best and that is what I expect to be delivered to them and you.

Warm Regards,

Keith E. Lewis