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JUNE 2012 VOLUME I ISSUE 1 FASNY CONNECTIONS FASNY HEADMASTER RETIRES SCHOOL SAYS FAREWELL TO MR. ROBERT LEONHARDT BY JULIAN SALZ AND OLIVIER WEISS Above: This drawing of Robert Leonhardt is printed with the permission of FASNY student and artist Emanuel Wickenburg, rising 10 th grader. Originally published in The Messenger, June 2012. Click Here to Read the Latest Issue of The Messenger. Above: For years Bob Leonhardt was not content to simply head the School he loved, rather he chose to lead in the classrooms, as well, teaching the popular _____ class each year. Click Here to Read the Latest Issue of The Messenger. When Mr. Robert Leonhardt took the school by storm as Head of the School in 2002, he sought to take FASNY to the next level. Though already extremely successful all told, we barely had a high school, the French and American curricula were not as closely integrated as they are today, and the concept of a Ridgeway campus would have seemed somewhat inappropriate and grandiose. Now, under his leadership, four 12th grade classes have graduated and a large, integrated campus should soon become a reality. FASNY has grown from a “Mom and Pop” establishment into a community that is professional and thriving, yet warm and tight-knit. We at The Messenger have sought to paint a picture of the man, his time and fantastic record at FASNY, and what’s next for the school by speaking to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees Mr. Mischa Zabotin, Mr. Leonhardt himself, his successor Mr. Joël Peinado, and his assistant Ms. Debbie Kozlowski, who, sadly, will be leaving the Mamaroneck office and moving to the Fenimore office to assist Mr. Peinado. As tough as being Headmaster must have been, the man with the familiar bowtie and bearded smile made it clear that he was prepared: “I knew what I was getting into,” he assured us. He explained that he had been armed with a vision for the school that led him through his first few years: “the academic administration had to be professionalized in order to permit growth.” His assistant Ms. Kozlowski—Debbie, to most of us—agreed. When asked what Mr. Leonhardt’s crowning achievement at FASNY was, Debbie responded that it was much more of the “little, behind-the-scenes things that not many got to see” that was the most seminal aspect of his tenure, noting that he “professionalized the school and brought it up to standards.” When asked what his biggest obstacles or toughest decisions were, Mr. Leonhardt said that no decision was impossible, but rather that there were many important ones. Some of the most memorable, he said, were launching the Ridgeway project, taking on the lease for the Scarsdale campus, and opening the 11th and 12th grades, which he said was especially difficult given time constraints, the need to convince 10th grade students to stay at FASNY, and the process of gaining accreditation from the French government. CONTINUED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE … DID YOU KNOW FASNY’S FACEBOOK ALUMNI HOMEBASE “FASNY CONNECT” HAS 452 “FRIENDS” – “FRIEND” US TODAY AND SHARE YOUR PHOTOS AND NEWS! “Opening Minds, Expanding Horizons.”
JUNE 2012 VOLUME I ISSUE 1 FASNY CONNECTIONS TEAMWORK A CENTRAL THEME OF MR. LEONHARDT’S TENURE … CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE When asked about his leadership style, everyone pointed to the same word: “teamwork.” Mr. Leonhardt put it humbly, describing himself as “too lazy to be a micromanager; I’m more of a teamwork guy.” Mr. Peinado said that Mr. Leonhardt “believes in his people, delegates choices, and always works in committees.” He added that the atmosphere Mr. Leonhardt created was “nonhierarchical,” in which it was not about power, but about everyone working together. Mr. Leonhardt will certainly be missed. “He’s almost like a father figure to me,” said Debbie. “He’s not just a boss, he’s a friend and a role model.” She fondly recalled how, when telling a story, Mr. Leonhardt always “takes on every accent that the people in the story have, because it could be Brooklyn, or German, or French, and you’re so engaged in it because he’s so hilarious, and he remembers everything word for word.” Mr. Zabotin described his relationship with Mr. Leonhardt as being “based on open and honest communication, on mutual availability and on trust. Those are also the hallmarks of a good friendship, which our relationship has become.” And when asked to describe Mr. Leonhardt in a few words, Mr. Peinado said: “articulate, funny, intelligent, team-builder, and visionary.” Asked about his vision for FASNY, Mr. Leonhardt’s said it “starts with the new campus. We’d like to expand to 1200 students in the near future.” The tuition will have to stay at the same rate, the curriculum will expand to include more non-native French speakers, and a new academic track will be created. Mr. Peinado added that the courses might be more diversified through means of having more than just the French curriculum, which will, in turn, reinforce the international aspect of the school. Some students, in fact, might not even need to speak French. He qualified¬ this, though, by saying that the French baccalaureate still needs to be a focal point. On the transition from Mr. Leonhardt to Mr. Peinado, the former said he believes that there will be very little to no change. Mr. Peinado said that he is “not looking to go in a different direction,” stating that the transition will have a “positive and serene” essence to it and that he will make sure to keep the school “true to its mission.” Mr. Zabotin, in a letter he wrote for the Gala, said that Mr. Leonhardt made sure that FASNY did “not let academic excellence come at the expense of well-rounded, respectful, and unassuming students,” and, in his interview, he said that Mr. Peinado compliments this view of the school with his “holistic approach to pedagogy,” concluding that he was the obvious choice for the position of Head of the School. Mr. Leonhardt, for his part, doesn’t plan on retiring and sitting on Florida’s sunny beaches just yet; he is waiting for what the future may have in stock. Asked to reflect on his plans, what he’s learned at FASNY, and what he will miss most, he said that, after his health scare in 2009, he feels not only much healthier, but also “much better,” and that his lying in a hospital bed provided for a lot of perspective and insight for the graduation speech he delivered to FASNY’s trailblazing class of 2009. When it comes to life lessons, he believes that he has “developed a deeper understanding of the importance of listening carefully; I have learned to be very patient.” He says that he will certainly miss, above all, “the people, and the opportunity to work in a bilingual environment.” It seems clear that Mr. Leonhardt’s leadership for the past ten years has not just changed an entire school for the better, but also instilled in FASNY his own values of professionalism with warmth, trust with responsibility, and growth with stability. It’ll be different without his famous bowtie or, as Mr. Zabotin puts it, his uncanny ability to quote La Fontaine for any given situation, but his legacy remains, and so does his sparkling personality. As he led the school through its largest expansions, so he leads a new chapter in his life, and we wish him the best. - THIS ARTICLE WAS PRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF FASNY STUDENTS AND AUTHORS JULIAN SALZ AND OLIVIER WEISS, RISING 12 TH AND 11 TH GRADERS, RESPECTIVELY. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE MESSENGER, JUNE 2012. CLICK HERE TO READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE MESSENGER. DID YOU KNOW LINKEDIN HAS A FASNY GROUP “THE FRENCH AMERICAN SCHOOL OF NEW YORK” WITH 18 MEMBERS AND COUNTING – “JOIN” US TODAY AND BEGIN MAKING GREAT CONNECTIONS! “Opening Minds, Expanding Horizons.”
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