‘CHERISHED AND CHALLENGED’

BACK TO SCHOOL: Dr. Teresa Snyder joins CSO as Associate Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Teresa Snyder, who is back in the Catholic School Office as Associate Superintendent of Schools, said each child brings unique qualities as a student adding, “It’s not like you can say if you put the kid on the assembly line in kindergarten, they’re going to end up here. No. There are a lot of variables you hit along the way because we’re dealing with human beings.” (Emily Benson photo)

Dr. Teresa Snyder looks right at home behind a desk. It’s the staple of any teacher — besides the shiny red apple and the black chalkboard — and while her desk now sits in the Albany Diocesan Catholic School Office, after working in education most of her life, it’s safe to say that Snyder’s mind is always on the classroom, or more importantly, the students in it. 

After over 40 years in public school education — including a brief stint at the Catholic School Office in 1994-95 as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction — Snyder is back at the CSO office as the new Associate Superintendent of Schools, bringing her passion for education and learning with her. 

“I do get passionate about it,” Snyder said. “I find there’s something every school has in common and that is children. And there is something that is unique to every school and that is children. They don’t come with a prepackaged formula.” 

Born in Vermont and raised in New Hampshire, Snyder is also familiar with the Albany area. She’s lived and worked all across the Capital District, having first moved here in 1970 to pursue her undergraduate degree in philosophy at Siena College in Loudonville. Snyder was one of the first women at the college — and the first woman to major in philosophy. 

She holds two master’s degrees — the first in philosophy from the University of Vermont and the second in education from Russell Sage College — and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University at Albany School of Education. 

Snyder first started teaching at Emma Willard School in Troy, but was tapped to become the director of the children’s school soon after. The switch from the classroom to administration kick-started her career. She went on to serve as principal of Glenmont Elementary School in Bethlehem, superintendent of the Brunswick-Brittonkill Central School District in Rensselaer, and then superintendent of the Voorheesville Central School District. Even after retiring in 2015, Snyder has continued to take jobs and work in schools around the Albany area.

It’s a rare and notable skill set that Snyder has: her drive for helping students to learn is balanced with her kind, teacher-like approach to all challenges in the education community. Her personal motto for the classroom is for children to feel “cherished and challenged,” a goal that often requires a unique approach for each student and school.

“We’ve been looking for ‘the one best way’ (to educate kids) since the beginning of the 19th century because we’re trying to model it after a business,” said Snyder. “But the unique qualities that every single child brings to us, they’re not widgets. You’re going to get whatever gifts this child brings to us. … It’s not like you can say if you put the kid on the assembly line in kindergarten, they’re going to end up here. No. There are a lot of variables you hit along the way because we’re dealing with human beings.”

In 2014, WMHT TV’s “How We Live: Upstate Views on Education” hosted a panel discussion on educational issues, including the implementation of Common Core in New York schools. Then-State Education Commissioner John King and Snyder went head-to-head on the issue. Her responses attracted national attention and enthusiastic support.

“Education is messy and if we’re going to search for the one best way, we’re going to minimize education instead of maximizing potential,” she said.

Snyder drew attention again in 2021 when her blog post about how to approach children coming back to school after being home during the pandemic went viral. 

“I finally understood what viral meant,” she laughed. “It went around the world. I was getting letters from people in foreign languages I couldn’t read.”

Snyder’s message was simple but impactful: when the students come back, “don’t focus on what they haven’t learned, don’t focus on the loss of learning, because these kids learned things we can’t even conceive of — including learning to deal with death and trying to do online learning.”

Her daughter quipped that the piece was so good it would get her on “The Today Show.” It was a funny joke, until one day, Snyder got a call from NBC Studios. “I let it go to voicemail thinking someone is pranking me, and it was someone calling me from ‘Today with Hoda & Jenna,’ ” she said.

Snyder joined clinical psychologist and former principal Allison Agliata for a segment of the show, discussing her blog post and how to help students facing anxiety during the pandemic.

Snyder now hopes to be a resource to all the Catholic schools in the Diocese, and to walk with students, teachers and administrators as the school year unfolds, helping students to feel both cherished and challenged.

“We’re making the road as we walk,” she said. “I love working with (Dr.) Chris (Bott, superintendent of schools), and I love the opportunity to be here. And I want us to have fun. Our mission is about joy; we ought to have a good time doing this.”