BY MATT LINDSEY

North Country This Week

POTSDAM -- Many North Country residents leave the region to find employment in cities, or other parts of the country before returning home for family reasons. That is true of new Potsdam Central School Superintendent Jerry Griffin.

"I feel rejuvenated," Griffin said about his first two weeks at PCS.  

Griffin replaces former Superintendent Joann Chambers, who retired Dec. 31, 2022.

"I would ask everyone for their patience as I figure out my communication style," Griffin said." "Mine might be different, but that's not a bad thing."

Griffin said he’s still getting to know his colleagues and school, but sees a promising future.

"Every classroom should be an engaging environment," Griffin said. "We should make kids feel like they belong here and that there is something here for them," Griffin said, adding that he hopes to remain in the district for a long time.

The new super grew up in Brushton and later graduated from SUNY Potsdam with a teaching degree in mathematics.

It was his time at college in the 1990s that Griffin fell in love with Potsdam. He and his wife Laura knew they always wanted to return here.

But after college, the couple needed to find employment.

Griffin said he moved to North Carolina after college because the area was booming and jobs were easier to find for new teachers.

His boss, the principal at the school, urged Griffin into becoming an administrator.

Griffin followed that advice and eventually landed a job as a principal in North Carolina. He spent 14 years there.

As time passes, lifestyle changes come up.

Griffin had a young child and he and his wife's parents were in their later years of their lives. The couple wanted to spend more time with family members.

"I wanted my son to grow up around his grandparents," Griffin said.  

An opening at Malone Central paved the way for Griffin to return to the North Country. He eventually transitioned into the superintendent position.

Griffin was made aware of the opening of the PCS superintendent job by former Superintendent Chambers, whom he has known for years.

He had already been having talks with his wife about the next phase of their life, and if Malone was possibly the last stop for them.

"Maybe this is a sign," Griffin said. “So I threw my name in the hat.”

Griffin said his time at Malone was positive, but that he and his wife believed the right time for a change was now.

His wife works in education near Akwesasne and also teaches at SUNY Potsdam in the evening. They  plan to purchase a home in the Potsdam Central School District.