08/20/2026
A few months ago, we announced the beginning of a campaign to connect and celebrate SCSD alumni, while growing the reach of the SCSD Educational Foundation. Today, we’re kicking off our SCSD Alumni Spotlight Series with a bit of trivia:
Who was the last Mayor of Syracuse to graduate from a Syracuse City School?
The answer is surprisingly difficult to determine.
While we've seen SCSD graduates become CEO's and go to space, war, and the major leagues, we can say for certain that it has been - at the very least - 60 years since a Syracuse Mayor was a graduate of a Syracuse high school.
That makes the present connection between our schools and our city’s leadership especially meaningful.
Last year, Sharon Owens won a historic race to become the first Mayor of color in Syracuse’s history. Mayor Owens, a Geneva kid, has surrounded herself with a number of talented SCSD graduates, including the city's No. 2 official, Deputy Mayor Corey Driscoll-Dunham.
Deputy Mayor Driscoll-Dunham graduated from Nottingham High School in 2001; she'd go on to study at St. John Fisher before earning an MPA from the University at Albany. Shortly after, she began her distinguished career in public service. Today, she continues to make us proud, and she represents the district with distinction at City Hall.
Driscoll-Dunham's brother, Joe Driscoll, has also dedicated his career to public service locally and works alongside her for the Owens administration.
During a previous SCSD alumni campaign, Deputy Mayor Corey Driscoll-Dunham reflected on how her experience in the Syracuse City Schools pushed her towards public service:
“I’m proud to be a SCSD graduate because nothing can compare to the life lessons I learned in my time there. I can’t think of any other experience that can immerse you in a broader diversity of people from all walks of life than at Levy and Nottingham. It is absolutely a microcosm of and a preparation for life beyond high school, with all its beauty and challenges, and for that, I am eternally grateful.”
That perspective comes through in the way she approaches her work every day.
“I can think of no better way to give back to this community that has given me so much than working every day to make residents’ lives a little bit easier – whether that’s reducing the number of potholes you encounter on your drive to work, or making the city cleaner through the introduction of trash carts, or ensuring the Water Department has what it needs to continue providing clean, safe drinking water, or promoting the wide variety of recreation programs in one of our beautiful parks, or installing new, safe sidewalks for kids to get to school.”
And perhaps most importantly, the Deputy Mayor described one of the most valuable lessons she took with her from Syracuse City Schools:
“Once you’ve identified a problem, if you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.”
To learn more or contribute to the SCSD Ed Foundation, visit our website scsdedfoundation.org - If you’re an alumni interested in staying on our radar or getting involved, please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCuw8l_p_upajzX5nGhb4dz1mPu23qPOwdSRxnaES28-2MJQ/viewform
