Farewell to a Leader: Syracuse Schools' Superintendent Reflects

A New Chapter for the Syracuse City School District

It’s hard to believe that we’re already two months into the new school year. But while students and teachers still have a while of learning left in the 2025-26 academic year, a Central New York superintendent is reflecting on the past and looking ahead to retirement.

On Oct. 31, Anthony Davis served his last day as the Syracuse City School District superintendent. NewsChannel 9 spoke with Davis, and the new superintendent to take over, Pam Odom.

Why Now?

Tony, I know you’re excited about this, but we’ve got to ask about the timing. A couple of months into the new school year, and you’ve decided to retire. Why now?

Davis:

Two really quick reasons. One, I wanted to help get the STEAM school open, that was a big venture for our community. I wanted to help get that done, and having Pam follow me, I knew it would be easier to start the school year with backfilling positions and everything. It would be much more disruptive if I waited until December to go.

A Familiar Face in the Lead

Pam, congratulations to you as well. You’re obviously no stranger to the district. You’re a Nottingham grad, you’re a deputy to Tony right now. What does it feel like, though, now, to be in the lead chair? You’re leading the district that you came up in.

Odom:

I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to be the next superintendent in the Syracuse City School District. I publicly just want to thank the Board for giving me this opportunity. I grew up in Syracuse; I’m a graduate of Syracuse, as you’ve already shared, and so I am just super excited. I started as a teaching assistant in the Syracuse City School District and worked my way up to the superintendent. So I am super thrilled to have this opportunity to be the next superintendent.

Seamless Transition

I’m going to ask you about the transition. It’s got to be seamless, seeing as they’re not doing a nationwide search, they’re not going outside of the district. They’ve found a person who is right next to you [Davis]. That’s got to make the transition a lot easier.

Davis:

Yes, and one of the things I said to the Board when I took the initial job was it wasn’t my intention to stay here a very long time. So I knew it was going to be close to three years or less. So I asked for a deputy superintendent, so that we can make sure somebody was in line, because it’s very difficult for a district our size to start over every two or three years. So we wanted to make sure we had somebody in place that understood everything that was happening and why.

A Smooth Path to Leadership

Pam, for you, you’re on a different side of that whole equation. How helpful for you has it been serving as a deputy superintendent, and then to know that you’ve got the job and two months to transition at the beginning of this school year; how helpful has that been to you?

Odom:

I have worked closely with Superintendent Davis, so the transition is really going to be smooth. I think he’s been helpful as a mentor and a colleague. But also what we’ve done that I’m excited about is that we’ve actually gone out into the community and we’ve held community conversations to get feedback from the community. We’ve shared some highlights, and they’ve given us some things we need to work on. We’ve also went to schools and we’ve had an opportunity to speak with students and teachers to get some feedback and see all of the wonderful things that are happening in our school buildings. Lastly, I am having “Meet the Superintendent” nights, where our Syracuse City School District employees can give feedback. The superintendent has always shared, and I believe, that we cannot do this job alone in order to serve our families well and our students well; we really need feedback from everyone. So that’s how I’m going to lead, and he’s led by example, and I will continue to lead that way.

Listening to the Community

You’ve been getting a lot of feedback, and Tony, obviously you’re giving her input as well. What was the biggest takeaway from all the voices that you heard?

Odom:

I think the biggest takeaway is pretty much just, “Let us have our say.” People want to be able to share not only the concerns and issues, but highlights. We’re going to continue to do that.

Continuing to Support the District

Tony, you’re not totally leaving education. It’d be easier to retire tomorrow or go fish somewhere or whatever you want to do (I don’t even know if you fish). But you might actually be doing a great deal of consulting with the district. How did that all come together?

Davis:

Actually, just a need. My area of expertise has always been secondary and high school, in particular. With a lot of the transitions that we’ve had, we have a lot of new young talent that’s coming up that could use some mentoring and some help. With my background I think that’s going to be a perfect place for me to be able to continue to help the district. Just from the distance.

Reflections and Memories

When you look back at your time in the district, what stands out to you the most? What’s most memorable? Most proud accomplishment?

I’m going to say two really big highlights for me:

One is saying to young people that I sat in the same seats that you did. Extremely important. I’m very excited to walk into a classroom and say, “Hey, I went to this school.” I’m a Henninger [High School] graduate.

The second thing is, watching the district and the community become one again. At one point I think it was very separate. But, I look around these days and everyone’s trying to help educate our students. I think that’s been the most impactful thing that we’ve done, to bring them both back together again.

Looking Ahead

Tony, you’re looking at the rear view mirror; Pam, you’re looking ahead. What’s your vision for the future?

My vision for the Syracuse City School District is: I am a firm believer that all children need equality education. We’re going to continue to work chronic absenteeism. If the students come to school, it is our job to educate them.

Secondly, we’re going to continue to focus on our literacy and our numeracy goals, making sure that students are improving with their reading and math skills.

And thirdly, we have over 40 CTE [Career and Technical Education] programs, so now our students can graduate from the Syracuse City School District and they can choose to go to college or go right into the workforce. These are huge, huge opportunities for students and we’re going to continue to focus on these areas.