Superintendent Anibal Soler, Jr.

Anibal Soler, Jr., joined the Schenectady City School District as superintendent of schools on July 19, 2021.  Mr. Soler has 21 years of experience in the field of education, twelve as an administrator.  Prior to coming to Schenectady, he served as superintendent of schools for the Batavia City School District, a small high-needs city school district in Genesee County.  

During Soler’s tenure as superintendent, he launched a community schools initiative with a focus on equity, opportunity, and family.  He helped secure the district’s first ever My Brother’s Keeper Family and Community Engagement Grant.  He facilitated the adoption of a board policy and regulation on Equity, Inclusivity and Diversity in Education, and he helped successfully lead the district through multiple budget processes with no tax increase.  Soler also has successfully negotiated bargaining agreements.

Soler led the development and implementation of a strong reopening plan in the Fall of 2020 that did not result in any staff cuts or layoffs.  Under his direction, the district prioritized the needs of at-risk students by keeping schools open and providing in-person instruction for English language learners (ELL), special education and at-risk students.  All of the district’s schools opened for in-person learning for all students throughout the last ten weeks of the school year.

Prior to becoming a superintendent, Soler served as an associate superintendent of strategic alignment and innovation for Buffalo Public Schools, one of the largest districts in the state with 33,000 students and more than 60 schools.  He led the Strong Community Schools, a school improvement strategy, encompassing 21 schools and approximately 11,000 students.  He has successfully moved schools that were designated as “struggling” or “failing” to schools in “good standing.”  Soler has a strong history of working with community, city and county organizations and is committed to developing partnerships with the Schenectady community. 

Soler also worked as a high school principal in the Rochester City School District from 2009-2016 and an elementary school principal from 2016-2018.  He began his educational career in 2000 as an art teacher and spent some time as an instructional technology teacher in the Rochester City School District.

Under his leadership, Soler said that he wants Schenectady to be known for providing students high quality educational experiences, boundless opportunities, dynamic and equitable supports while remaining fiscally sound and responsible. He also stressed the importance of ensuring that all students and members of the district have a voice and feel represented. 

Soler earned a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Daemen College, Master of Science in Educational Technology from Nazareth College and Master of Science in Educational Administration from St. John Fisher College.  He is currently working on completing his Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Manhattanville College.

Soler is married and has four children.