Outgoing Center Street School principal Edward Bellomo said he considered becoming a meteorologist early in life, but instead chose a career focusing on the environment inside a classroom rather than outside.
For Bellomo, the wisdom of that decision was never more evident than last month when he was honored on National Principal Day by Center Street students as the 61-year-old educator prepared to retire after 13 years at the school.
“The gym was filled with kids,” Bellomo said. “It was so touching. You do what’s right for kids and you hope you leave a legacy. And it told me the got it,”
Bellomo said it’s always a rewarding experience to hear from a former student, which he said he often does.
“It’s a wonderful place to work,” he said of the Center Street School. “The kids are great, the staff is great, the administration is wonderful.”
Bellomo said a great literature teacher he had in Queens College prompted him to change his major and become a teacher.
Bellomo said his decision was soon rewarded when he got a job teaching junior high school English in south Ozone Park in 1977.
“I loved the interaction with the children, helping them to see the literature, that when you study human beings, what you can learn from that,” Bellomo said.
He made the transition to administrative work as an assistant principal in the mid-’80s and in 1991 became principal of P.S. 215, a K through fifth grade school, in Far Rockaway. He said he had a good staff that worked well together at the school, where he remained for nine years.
“I felt moving up the ranks, I would have a chance to expand my influence,” Bellomo said.
He said he applied to the Herricks district 13 years ago and underwent a “rigorous process” as one of 65 or 70 applicants for the Center Street job.
“To me, it’s the greatest job in the world, when you lay a foundation for children,” Bellomo said.
He said he proud of the legacy he said he’s left at Center Street of raising the school’s academic standards “to levels that require more sophisticated levels for our kids.” Maintaining arts and music programs and an annual drama production has also been part of what he leaves at Center Street, he said.
“I’m really proud of the balance we maintain here,” Bellomo said.
That balance, he said, includes “teaching kids to think about others,” through fundraising for the Interfaith Nutritional Network in Hempstead, and supporting the Make-A Wish Foundation and the Heart Association.
His mission at Center Street had also been to make kids know “they really matter” and taking to listen staff members’ issues, he said.
Bellomo said he also liked a hands-on approach, having sung with the children’s chorus at Center Street.
Outside of school, Bellomo spent several years singing in a Gospel music group, “The Watchmen,” and still sings at the Point Church in Hicksville with his son, David, who leads worship services there.
The education process has been transformed during his time at Center Street, with increased access to information through use of laptops and smartboards in classrooms.
He said third graders working with computer notebooks are now ready for more complex work in high school. And the reading and writing program the district created over the last several years with Columbia University has taken things to another level.
“It’s a challenge to get kids to where they need to be, but make it age appropriate and have fun,” Bellomo said.
Bellomo said he’s planning on keeping himself occupied in education and has been exploring options to hook up with colleges to work with aspiring teachers and administrators.
A diehard New York Mets fan – the Center Street kids sang the Mets song at the celebration for him – he’ll have more time to get to the ballpark. A resident of Franklin Square, Bellomo said he also plans to do volunteer work for his church and is looking forward to taking his first trip to Italy.
“I haven’t had a full summer off since I’m 17,” Bellomo said.
