The Mayfield Central School District Board of Education has announced its selection for its next superintendent of schools.
Christopher Clapper, the current superintendent of the Alexandria Central School District, was appointed as the new Mayfield superintendent during a special Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. He will assume the superintendent’s position in Mayfield in early July with a 4-year contract.
Clapper has served as the Alexandria superintendent since 2017. He previously served as the elementary school principal in the Southern Cayuga Central School District’s Emily Howland Elementary School in Aurora, NY. Clapper began his career at South Cayuga as a high school social studies teacher in 2003.
At Alexandria, Clapper worked closely with the Board of Education and district staff on a number of successes, including creating and implementing a district literacy program; expanding college courses through Syracuse University Project Advance in each academic department; initiating a $6.5 million capital project; and creating a regional CDL training facility, generating both revenue and a bus driver pipeline. Clapper himself successfully completed CDL training with school bus endorsement as part of a campaign to encourage district staff to become licensed.
Under Clapper’s leadership, the team at Alexandria also enhanced the district’s cafeteria services and related educational programs. Initiatives included a hydroponics food program, a K-12 farm-to-table food initiative, and student-led catering entrepreneurship experience.
“In my very first discussion with the Mayfield Board, I could sense their commitment and genuine excitement for supporting students and staff in the district. I’m looking forward to meeting with all stakeholder groups to further learn about opportunities and priorities we all share,” said Clapper.
Clapper was selected from an accomplished pool of candidates following a comprehensive search process. The process involved collecting feedback from various community stakeholders on what they hoped to see in the school district’s next leader. Feedback was gathered from employees, students, families and community members through an open survey and a series of focus groups. HFM BOCES District Superintendent David Ziskin served as the search consultant for Mayfield.
“The Mayfield Central School District’s Board of Education is thrilled to welcome Mr. Chris Clapper to our school community. The process of identifying and hiring a superintendent is one of the most important responsibilities that we face as board members. Dr. Ziskin and his team facilitated a thorough search, and we thank our community for providing the guidance needed to make a fantastic choice for our next school leader,” Mayfield Board President Aaron Flynn said. “We are very excited for this new chapter to begin. Thank you to Superintendent Christoper Harper for his five years of service to the Mayfield Central School District. We wish him well.”
Clapper holds a master’s degree from the University of Maryland in Business Administration, and a dual bachelor’s degree in Secondary Social Studies and Economics from SUNY Cortland. He also received his Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration from SUNY Cortland.
