OBSERVER Photo by Natasha Matteliano Dr. Bradley Zilliox was named the new superintendent of the Fredonia Central School District.

Dr. Bradley Zilliox has been appointed the next superintendent of the Fredonia Central School District.

“Mr. Zilliox presented to the board a plan to detail how he would get started in his role as superintendent, which is an entry plan,” said Brian Aldrich, Fredonia school board president. “We were impressed with his command for leadership, not just taking command, but how to effectively lead an organization.”

Zilliox was formerly superintendent of the Franklin Central School District, a position he held since 2016. Previously, Zilliox also served as a secondary principal for the Rochester City School District. From 2010 until 2015, he was the middle school principal at Wheatland-Chili Central Schools.

His experience also includes six years as a house principal at Willink Middle School in the Webster Central School District.

In 1990, Zilliox began his work in education as a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Gustavus Adolphus Learning Center in Falconer. He holds a Bachelor of Science in history from SUNY Brockport and a Master of Education degree from Kent State University. He completed the superintendent development program at SUNY Oswego and holds two New York State Certificates of Advanced Study from SUNY Brockport. Finally, Zilliox received a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Rochester.

After receiving and accepting welcome wishes from the board, Zilliox provided his own explanation to mostly the audience that he hopes to lead the district and provide the best leadership he can.

“I’m truly humbled and honored to be here tonight,” he said. “I’m very much looking forward to joining the team at Fredonia. I very much appreciate the opportunity that has been presented to me and it is not lost on me, the responsibility and the power of the role of Superintendent. I believe that in every organization, especially education, we need to do this together. In all of this, I recognize that it’s a very interesting time in education. I recognize there’s a lot happening in Fredonia and around Fredonia. … (We will be focusing on) adjusting and adapting our plans moving forward to make sure people are as safe as possible, but also to provide that education that we know is critical to our young people.”