'Stability and leadership' allow focus on kids: Q&A with new Yonkers superintendent Soler

Anibal Soler, Jr. became superintendent of Yonkers Public Schools on May 1 and is about to open his first school year as the leader of New York's third-largest school system with almost 23,000 students in grades K to 12.

Soler, 47, grew up in Rochester, where he launched a fast-rising career in education, serving as an art teacher, technology teacher, academy director and principal of the city's largest high school over 16 years. He moved to Buffalo as a principal for two years and associate superintendent for one and a half. Soler then became a superintendent — of Batavia schools for a year and a half and in Schenectady for almost three years — before coming to Yonkers.

Soler, who is of Puerto Rican descent, said he visited all 39 Yonkers schools in May and June "so I could really get a feel for the schools."

He replaces Edwin Quezada, who rose through Yonkers' ranks to become superintendent from 2016 until his departure last year. During his tenure , the city's graduation rate climbed from 78% to over 90%.

Soler, whose contract runs through June 30, 2028, talked to The Journal News/lohud about his arrival. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Where are you from and what drew you to education?

I was born in Newark, New Jersey and was raised in Rochester. I did most of my growing up in Western New York, Rochester and the Buffalo area. I realized early on I wasn't going to make the NBA — everyone has those hoop dreams growing up. But I was a good artist. I used to love doing graffiti art growing up on the east side of Rochester — unfortunately a poor choice. I loved working with kids. So I figured art and education and decided to pursue an art education career. I got into education and was always one of those guys where, I was like, you can't criticize other people if I'm not willing to do the work. So I got jumped into leadership and administration and moved my way up from assistant principal to principal to associate superintendent and just worked my way up.

You spent a lot of time in the Rochester school system, which has about the same number of students as Yonkers but has had lesser results. (The Class of 2023's graduation rate was 67%.) What was that experience like?

Growing up in Rochester and going to the Rochester city schools was a pretty powerful experience. You used to be a student and then you work in the system. But I think the challenges of poverty are pretty significant in Rochester. It's probably one of the most impoverished communities per capita in the country. They have like a 90% rate (of students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch), while we are around 70% here in Yonkers. But the challenges are the same and I would tell you that I think stability and leadership has been important. When I was an educator and a principal in Rochester, I had seven superintendents in a decade. It's really hard to (succeed) like that. So I think credit goes to the mayor (Mike Spano) for stability and leadership. That goes a long way. And then to have Dr. Quezada be here for a pretty great run. That's something you don't really see in urban communities. That kind of stability does allow the system to focus on children and focus on the work, versus political turmoil, like "new superintendent" and "new change!" The hope is continue that legacy here, with me being here, hopefully taking me to retirement.

You had pretty short runs in Batavia and Schenectady. You do plan to stay in Yonkers for a while?

That is the hope. I didn't choose to leave those communities. You have opportunities. Being an associate superintendent in Buffalo. My first superintendency came up in Batavia, I did 18 months there. Schenectady is a much larger community compared to Batavia. As you do this work ... you go to bigger markets, bigger opportunities. I was in Schenectady almost three years and then this opportunity afforded itself. It's always been a dream of mine to lead one of the large, "Big 5" districts in the state of New York. For me, there were a lot of things that made sense here, stability and leadership from the mayor, him having a commitment to the school system. I actually love the governance model; the intermunicipal agreement allows us to be partners in this work. In the other Big 5, you don't necessarily have that, outside of New York City. To me, it's that synergy between the city and the school system really working together because, at the end of day, we're serving the same community.

You've worked in four urban school systems. What does it take to make urban education work?

It takes a level of transparency and collaboration, being honest when there are challenges. It takes partnerships with our union leaders. It will take some tough conversations. Typically, here in Yonkers, we have a fiscal challenge every year. We're anticipating the same thing this upcoming year. The (state) Foundation Aid formula is being looked at . We're working with the mayor to make sure we're heard, that they know Yonkers is unique. We're surrounded by a ton of wealth in Westchester County and the formula doesn't account for that. What works is advocacy, being true and telling our story. There are a lot of great things Yonkers has been able to achieve despite those fiscal challenges. Every year, the city has poured more and more money into the school system to make up for what they haven't gotten (in state aid). That's allowed us to continue to innovate. We're not a national My Brother's Keeper model community for no reason. We're touted for having graduation rates for young men of color higher than other communities that look like us. That's not a small feat. We have to continue to tell that story, continue to celebrate it and continue to build upon it.

Talk about the impact of immigration. In recent years, Yonkers has gotten a lot of students who had uneven schooling in their home counties.

All immigrants are coming here for one thing. They're coming here for the opportunity to achieve the American dream, right? Typically those kids and those families are the hardest working. They understand the value of everything we offer here. For us the majority are Spanish speakers and so that fits well in our community and our culture. We have a lot of experience with students with interrupted formal education. We are designed for it. This new school will be dual language . To to know that our schools have the right support and set up, I think, gives us an advantage. But we're not immune to those challenges and that fluidity of kids coming and going, which does add another layer with chronic absenteeism and things of that nature. But when our kids get here and we get to work with them multiple years, our English language learners do a really good job in terms of performance. Because they're coming here, they want to learn English, they understand the value of it, and they're ready to take advantage of everything we offer.

You're working on your doctorate at Manhattanville University. What is your dissertation on?

Yeah, I'm looking at the (state Board of Regents') Blue Ribbon Commission report (on high school graduation requirements) and how superintendents are going to respond to this new menu of options for kids to graduate. I want to interview superintendents around how they're going to adjust. There's a lot to navigate. We're going to want to create pathways for kids, and have kids have some say and some design in that pathway. We know some kids are great test takers; that'll still be an option. We know some of our kids are great with career and technical education, allowing that to be an option. I think some of it will be local control, in the sense where schools will be able to design portfolio type exits for kids that makes sense. If I'm an art student, I can do some portraits, do some great pottery. If I'm a kid who is new to this country and I can write great in my native language, why wouldn't I be able to get credit for having some of those skills? That I think will be the beauty of what is being proposed. There is some confusion with it. I think that the challenge will be: How do you measure system to system, if we're allowed to create this. I think we'll leave that to the experts.

You have four kids? What ages?

Yes, the oldest is 16, twin girls who just turned 13 this weekend, and an 8-year-old. My wife Tracy is a nurse practitioner. She's a Buffalo girl, so you know I married into the Bills mafia. I know that's rare down here because it's Giants or Jets.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 'Stability and leadership' allow focus on kids: Q&A with new Yonkers superintendent Soler