Personal |
BackgroundIn 1991 I began my educational career working in the summer school program for the New York City school system. I spent the next two summer seasons home from college, working with students with severe physical and emotional disabilities. The summer work experience with these children is what inspired me to pursue a career in education. Two years later I completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education-English. A grant from West Virginia University for graduate studies allowed me to stay where I earned my undergraduate degree, and a year later I completed a Master of Arts in Special Education. I returned home to New York and started my teaching career at Island Trees UFSD in Levittown, N.Y., where I spent the next eight years.
Working as an educator and coach was extremely fulfilling to me. The transition to administrator at Baldwin Middle School was difficult, mostly because of the shift to view the whole school as an organization. I worked for three years as an administrative Dean of Students, before accepting the 7-12 Summer School Principal position, while still in Baldwin schools. An opportunity to return to the high school setting was presented, and I found myself accepting an Assistant Principal position at Farmingdale High School, where I am currently working. This job has broadened my career, and given me new aspirations to become an agent of change for education in our country. |