Tod Eagle was born May 31, 1948, to Peg (McGinnis) Eagle and Chuck Eagle, both graduates of Hudson Falls High School. Tod was the oldest of their three children. David Eagle and Dianne Leonelli are his siblings and fellow Tiger alumni. David is also a Wall of Distinction honoree. Tod lettered in two varsity sports and was a member of the 1965 team that neither lost nor was scored upon football team; Tod also acted in school plays with the Drama Club and was likely as suspect an actor as he was an athlete.
Like many of the post-World War II generation, he was the first from his family to ever attend college. Mr. Eagle graduated from Le Moyne College in 1970 with a BA in English. He received an M.S. in English Education from Syracuse University in 1972. A few years later, he attended SUNY Oswego to earn a CAS degree, which certified him to become a school administrator. Tod also attended the University of Rochester to work on a doctorate in educational administration.
Mr. Eagle began his career as an educator teaching high school English at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse then moved on to become Language Arts Supervisor at both Liverpool and West Genesee School Districts. He came back home to become the principal of Glens Falls High School. He ultimately was a school superintendent for 21 years, beginning in 1984 at Manchester-Shortsville Schools, later at Jamestown City Schools and completing his career as the District Superintendent of the Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES. He retired in 2005.
In 1991 the American Association of School Administrators named him New York State “Superintendent of the Year.” He was appointed to the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on School Leadership and was a Charter member of the NY State Excelsior Award Executive Committee. He was elected Chairperson of the NYS District action three times and served four years on the Project Lead the Way National Oversight Committee. New York selected him as a “Distinguished Educator” to serve as one of three judges to recertify schools that were under registration review in New York City.
He was an adjunct professor of Educational Leadership and School Law at SUNY Brockport graduate school. In retirement, he mentored many new principals and superintendents and worked for an architectural firm assisting districts with capital project funding and educational design.
Mr. Eagle’s wife Maura, was also an English teacher who became a school principal and Assistant Superintendent in her career. His daughter Alyson Eagle Story is currently an English teacher in Greece Central School District. His daughter Lauren Eagle Blackburn is a Vice President of The Hartford Insurance Company. He has two grandsons Patrick Beam and Max Blackburn.
Now retired, Tod is an avid reader, golfer, traveler, and is a charter board member of an Educational Foundation he helped create in 2001 that has, so far, given well over a million dollars to assist students with college and career training.