Barry Derfel


for the ICSD Board



34 year veteran educator running for the ICSD

Board of Education.

I appreciate your vote!

Vote for Barry Derfel

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024

Polls Open 12-9 p.m.

Get In Touch: derfel4boe@gmail.com

I believe that my experience and proven skill set clearly qualify me to be one of the three candidates elected to the board. View endorsements here.


My Educational Justice site provides concrete evidence of what I have done over the last 35 years to promote social and emotional learning, mental health, and culturally responsive & inclusive practices at the classroom, building, and district-level.


I encourage you to review the materials on this site and decide for yourself if I have the background and skills needed to serve on the ICSD school board.


My family

My wife and I have lived in Ithaca for 43 years, and all three of our children have graduated from the Ithaca City School District.

Teaching is the most rewarding, challenging, and humbling profession I could ever have chosen.

My background

20+ Years as a Classroom Teacher:

  • PreK – Westhill Daycare, Ithaca
  • Grades 4,5,6 – Dryden Elementary School
  • Grades 6 to 12 – Lehman Alternative School, Ithaca
  • Grade 3 – Beverly J. Martin Elementary School, Ithaca
  • Grades 6 & 7 – Boynton Middle School, Ithaca

Related experience

  • Newfield High School Principal
  • TST BOCES Assistant Superintendent for Instruction

I will serve.

My unique set of experiences provides me with the understanding, skills, and resources needed to effectively serve the students, caregivers, families, and community of ICSD.

I have retired, but want to continue serving our school community. I want to help ensure that our policies and budget are working together so that each and every child in our schools can evoke their best selves, move closer to their dreams, and thrive.

I have learned that this can only happen when our policies and budget work together to do the same for every adult member of our school community- bus drivers, cafeteria workers, teachers, nurses, aides, administrators, librarians, clerical staff, administrative assistants, coaches, specialists, support staff, volunteers… everyone.

I am experienced.

Over the course of my career, I was fortunate to teach children ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years, and to have taught multiple subject areas. I gained a deep understanding of child development, learning styles, classroom management, discipline, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and collaboration. But even this breadth of understanding was not enough to ensure that every child in my classroom thrived every day.

Challenges and roadblocks to our success were constant. Many of these were within my sphere of influence, and many were not. Ultimately, I came to see that effective teaching requires all of the above, and more. It requires ongoing learning, strategizing, innovating, letting go, courage, persistence, and being uncompromisingly honest with oneself.

Through my work in Newfield, I learned that effective administrators can remove many of the obstacles that get in the way of teaching & learning, and they can provide real time, meaningful support that actually helps everyone in a school do “the more” that’s needed for success.

My work at BOCES clarified for me the many obstacles that whole districts must overcome to achieve their visions, and I helped districts navigate NYSED guidance and recommendations in ways that were best for their children and communities.

If elected, I will use my experience to provide meaningful input when our board makes decisions. I will be able to help ensure that our policies and budget are realistically coordinated so that all members of our school community can evoke their best selves, move closer to their dreams, and thrive.

Get in touch