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JUNE 2012<br />
VOLUME I ISSUE 1<br />
FASNY CONNECTIONS<br />
TEAMWORK A CENTRAL THEME OF MR. LEONHARDT’S TENURE<br />
… CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE<br />
When asked about his leadership style, everyone pointed to the same word: “teamwork.” Mr. Leonhardt put it humbly, describing<br />
himself as “too lazy to be a micromanager; I’m more <strong>of</strong> a teamwork guy.” Mr. Peinado said that Mr. Leonhardt “believes in his<br />
people, delegates choices, and always works in committees.” He added that the atmosp<strong>here</strong> Mr. Leonhardt created was “nonhierarchical,”<br />
in which it was not about power, but about everyone working together.<br />
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<br />
and a role model.”<br />
She fondly recalled how, when telling a story, Mr. Leonhardt always “takes on every accent that the people in the story have,<br />
because it could be Brooklyn, or German, or French, and you’re so engaged in it because he’s so hilarious, and he remembers<br />
everything word for word.”<br />
Mr. Zabotin described his relationship with Mr. Leonhardt as being “based on open and honest communication, on mutual<br />
availability and on trust. Those are also the hallmarks <strong>of</strong> a good friendship, which our relationship has become.” And when asked<br />
to describe Mr. Leonhardt in a few words, Mr. Peinado said: “articulate, funny, intelligent, team-builder, and visionary.”<br />
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<br />
the near future.”<br />
The tuition will have to stay at the same rate, the curriculum will expand to include more non-native French speakers, and a new<br />
academic track will be created. Mr. Peinado added that the courses might be more diversified through means <strong>of</strong> having more than<br />
just the French curriculum, which will, in turn, reinforce the international aspect <strong>of</strong> the school. Some students, in fact, might not<br />
even need to speak French. He qualified¬ this, though, by saying that the French baccalaureate still needs to be a focal point.<br />
On the transition from Mr. Leonhardt to Mr. Peinado, the former said he believes that t<strong>here</strong> will be very little to no change. Mr.<br />
Peinado said that he is “not looking to go in a different direction,” stating that the transition will have a “positive and serene”<br />
essence to it and that he will make sure to keep the school “true to its mission.”<br />
Mr. Zabotin, in a letter he wrote for the Gala, said that Mr. Leonhardt made sure that FASNY did “not let academic excellence<br />
come at the expense <strong>of</strong> well-rounded, respectful, and unassuming students,” and, in his interview, he said that Mr. Peinado<br />
compliments this view <strong>of</strong> the school with his “holistic approach to pedagogy,” concluding that he was the obvious choice for the<br />
position <strong>of</strong> Head <strong>of</strong> the <strong>School</strong>.<br />
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<br />
future may have in stock.<br />
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<br />
2009, he feels not only much healthier, but also “much better,” and that his lying in a hospital bed provided for a lot <strong>of</strong><br />
perspective and insight for the graduation speech he delivered to FASNY’s trailblazing class <strong>of</strong> 2009. When it comes to life<br />
lessons, he believes that he has “developed a deeper understanding <strong>of</strong> the importance <strong>of</strong> listening carefully; I have learned to be<br />
very patient.” He says that he will certainly miss, above all, “the people, and the opportunity to work in a bilingual environment.”<br />
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<br />
instilled in FASNY his own values <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism with warmth, trust with responsibility, and growth with stability. It’ll be<br />
different without his famous bowtie or, as Mr. Zabotin puts it, his uncanny ability to quote La Fontaine for any given situation,<br />
but his legacy remains, and so does his sparkling personality. As he led the school through its largest expansions, so he leads a<br />
new chapter in his life, and we wish him the best.<br />
- THIS ARTICLE WAS PRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF FASNY STUDENTS AND AUTHORS JULIAN SALZ AND OLIVIER WEISS, RISING 12 TH AND 11 TH<br />
GRADERS, RESPECTIVELY. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE MESSENGER, JUNE 2012. CLICK HERE TO READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE MESSENGER.<br />
DID YOU KNOW LINKEDIN HAS A FASNY GROUP “THE FRENCH AMERICAN SCHOOL OF<br />
NEW YORK” WITH 18 MEMBERS AND COUNTING – “JOIN” US TODAY AND BEGIN MAKING<br />
GREAT CONNECTIONS!<br />
“Opening Minds, Expanding Horizons.”