Last night at Philipsburg Manor, TUFSD Superintendent Dr. Howard Smith was honored with the Westchester Community Foundation's Circle of Giving Award.

Each year, the Westchester Community Foundation (WCF) recognizes nonprofit and public sector executives who personify the ideals of philanthropy and nonprofit work though extraordinary personal service to their communities.

"This is really a night to honor Dr. Smith," said Catherine Marsh, Executive Director of WCF. "We give this award out every year to someone that has brought communities together and has shown courage and a principle by takings stands."

Marsh said that the WCF had keyed in on the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns, and the work Dr. Smith has done to foster education within the district's diverse community. 

"Things like the dual language program have been very innovative and successful," she said. 

TUFSD offers the dual-language Spanish-English classrooms for grades kindergarten through fourth. The district is one of just a handful of public school districts to do so in Westchester.

For eight years, the district has also operated a federally-funded Even Start Family Literacy Partnership, which combined English classes for parents with a quality preschool for the children and included a parent-child literacy component.

When federal funds were discontinued last year, Dr. Smith helped the district launch the Asociacion de Familias de Tarrytown, a program for young immigrant families that takes the best features of Even Start and makes it available to twice as many families. Westchester Community Foundation has been a supporter of both programs.

School Board President Mimi Godwin said that WCF's decision to honor Dr. Smith showed how respected the district, and Smith, have become in the eyes of many across the county. 

"It's a wonderful honor for him and it is so well deserved," she said. "We're proud of everything he's done for us and I'm glad that other people are taking notice."

Dr. Smith arrived in Tarrytown as superintendent in 2001 from Canton, New York, where he served as school superintendent and an adjunct professor of Education at St. Lawrence University. 

Since then, his involvement in the community has not been confined to the schools or the school year. After the closing of the Tarrytown Boys & Girls Club last spring, Dr. Smith championed efforts to help families left suddenly without summer day care. Working with local and county government, Westchester Community Foundation, and the newly formed Kids' Club, Dr. Smith provided space at one of the schools to house the village summer camp, which needed to be significantly expanded to handle 100 more children on short notice.

In addition, he recognized that one of the most missed aspects of the closed programs was the bond that formed between the teen counselors and their younger charges. His proactive efforts and steadfast support were integral to Kids' Club launching a mentoring/tutoring program as part of an after-school program.

"He's really adopted this community as his own," Godwin said. "He's become directly involved in that and people see it, they appreciate it."

The WCF also presented a Circle of Giving Award to honor the family of Linda Ellis and the late James Ellis of Scarsdale for their philanthropy carried out through community foundations in Westchester and Chicago.

Dr. Smith said he was humbled by the award, noting that the WCF has long been a part of the community by acting a continued source of philanthropy across the county.

"It means a lot given the organization that they are," he said.  

The award also came with a $10,000 check dedicated to the Foundation of the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns. Smith said the foundation was already discussing using that money to support funding for the arts. 

"We've talked about designating some of that to plug a hole in our arts funding because we've been having trouble scraping the funds together," he said. "This will help send kids to museums and give them access to musical performances. So, it is very timely."