Sandra Ruffo, president of the Broome-Tioga BOCES board and a past president of the Susquehanna Valley School Board, has been elected president of the New York State School Boards Association. She will take office on Jan. 1.
Ruffo, grew up in Alden, NY and graduated from Alden Central in 1967 as Sandra Eggleston. She attended and graduated from Harpur College, now Binghamton University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and then attended SUNY Broome and received her RN degree. Ruffo, a retired registered nurse, has been a school board member since 1985. She served on the Susquehanna Valley board for 18 years, including 15 as president, and is serving her 19th year as president of the Broome-Tioga BOCES board, which she joined in 1995.
She will succeed Peggy Zugibe of the North Rockland School Board and Rockland BOCES board, NYSSBA’s president in 2022 and 2023. Zugibe will continue serving on the board as immediate past president.
In remarks to school board members at NYSSBA’s annual convention in Buffalo last month, Ruffo said the theme of her presidency will be “Support the Whole Child.”
The theme recognizes the academic, emotional, psycho-social, safety and security needs of today’s students, she said. She also pledged to emphasize values of equity, diversity and inclusion.
“Our communities are diverse,” Ruffo said. “The needs of our students are unique to each of them, and our role is to meet their individual needs so they can achieve success in their educational experience and in life. We want every child to feel seen and heard and to experience a true sense of belonging.”
Ruffo’s previous honors include the Susquehanna Valley Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and the Rural Schools of New York Appreciation Award in 2019. In 2015, she received the Friend of Education Award from the School Administrators Association of New York State.
She and her husband, Sam, reside in the Broome County town of Conklin. They have five married children and 14 grandchildren.