Randolph Academy has welcomed two new members to its Board of Education. Susan Locke-Scott (pictured, right) and Danielle O’Connor have each begun four-year terms with the district, with Mrs. Locke-Scott appointed by the New York State Department of Education, and Mrs. O’Connor appointed by New Directions Youth and Family Services, per the district’s New York State Special Act charter.
Now retired, Locke-Scott served as manager of the Western Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Center and Transition WORKS offices, where she worked with school districts to plan and provide training for staff to improve educational results for students with disabilities since 2009. Her career also included various positions with Erie-1, Wayne-Finger Lakes, and St. Lawrence-Lewis county BOCES, as well as adjunct faculty positions at Buffalo State College and Daemen College.
A certified School District Administrator and Special Education Teacher K-12, Locke-Scott is a longtime member of the New York State Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition, having served as its president for several years. She has also served on the advisory boards of People Inc.’s Young Adult Living Transitions committee and Daemen College’s Thomas Reynolds Center. She holds numerous other professional affiliations as well.
Locke-Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in Special Education and Elementary Education from SUNY Geneseo and a master’s in Vocational Rehabilitation from the University at Tennessee. She also earned a Certificate of Advanced Study, Administration and Supervision, from Buffalo State College. She and her family reside in Buffalo.
O’Connor is a former Superintendent of the Frewsburg Central School District, and presently serves as Project Director of The Research Foundation for SUNY Fredonia. Prior to this, she was the Sherman Central School District’s Interim Superintendent. She has also served as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Director of Alternative and Special Education, and Principal/Supervisor of Instructional Programs for Erie 2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES at various points during her more than three-decade career.
O’Connor is a longstanding member of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, New York State School Boards Association, Chautauqua County School Boards Association, New York State Rural Schools Association, and Council for Exceptional Children.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Special Education from the University at Buffalo, as well as a master’s in Special Education from SUNY Geneseo. She has also completed a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration from SUNY Oswego, as well as Certificates of Graduate Study in Autism from the University at Albany, and in Superintendent Development from SUNY Oswego. She resides in Ashville, N.Y., with her husband, Patrick. The couple have two grown daughters. “We are very fortunate to have these two individuals with such diverse careers and learning experiences joining our board of education,” said Board Chair Mary Myers. “My colleagues and I are very excited to add their expertise and fresh perspectives for the benefit of our students, families, faculty and staff.”
