Contributor

LaRuth Gray, Scholar-in-Residence, New York University's Metropolitan Center for Urban Education

Dr. LaRuth Gray dedicates herself to improving the quality of education and the quality of life for children, and to addressing social issues that focus on equity and opportunity. A retired Superintendent of Schools for Abbott Union Free School District in Irvington, New York, Gray is a Scholar -In Residence at New York University's Metropolitan Center for Urban Education. Until recently, she served as Deputy Director of the Center under the leadership of Executive Director, Dr. Pedro Noguera before she reduced her time at the University. She began her career in education as a teacher in the New Rochelle City School District and moved up in the ranks to become Chairman of the Language Arts Department. From there, she was named first as Principal, then as Director of Instruction and finally, Assistant Superintendent, before assuming the Superintendency in the Abbott Union Free School District in Westchester County, NY.

Among the accomplishments attributed to Gray, is the design and development of a plan for the reorganization of the New Rochelle Public Schools in the Eighties to address the twin problems of minority isolation and declining enrollment. She is credited with the strategic development of the planning process for desegregating the New Rochelle Public schools. During her administrative tenure, Gray was honored by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Alliance for Arts Education as an outstanding educator contributing to and supporting the arts in education.

She has been recognized by: the Dean of the School of Education at New York University with a Faculty Award for Outstanding Service; the Executive Educator of the National School Boards Association as one of the 100 Outstanding Educators in Small School Districts in North America; and the Congressional Black Caucus Education Brain trust for her Excellence and Equity in Education. Other awards include the prestigious Evelyn Campbell Award (former Wisconsin Commissioner of Education) from the American Association of School Administrators, the Social Justice Award from the Westchester Young Women's Christian Association and the Humanitarian Award from the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce for her work in desegregating the New Rochelle schools.

Currently, Gray holds office and maintains membership in numerous professional and community organizations that reflect her intense devotion to quality of life improvement including: the Westchester Library System (a Past President) and the Westchester Arts Council (as President). She is a member of the Board of Directors of both the Katonah Art Museum and the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation. She also serves as a member of the League of Women Voters Fair Campaign Practices Hearing Board and numerous committees in Professional Organizations.