Herricks to appoint next High School Principal at June 11 meeting

James Galloway

The Herricks Board of Education will appoint the next Herricks High School principal at its June 11 board meeting, incoming Superintendent Fino Celano said in a phone interview Monday.

Jane Modoono, the current high school principal, is retiring at the end of the school year after more than a decade at the position.

“[The new principal] will be at the meeting,” Board of Education President James Gounaris said. “We’ll publicly introduce him and let everybody know all the great things about him and why we think he’s the right fit for our school.”

Celano, who was involved with the search, said the district was looking for an “experienced high school administrator” with expertise in curriculum development and instruction and who would develop strong relationships with staff, students and the community.

“We feel as though we found the right person who does embody all of these qualities and also has a commitment to continuous growth,” Celano said. “We’ve found an outstanding educator.”

At the March Board of Education meeting, board President James Gounaris announced that the board would interview three candidates who had advanced past two rounds of interviews with administrators, parents, teachers, union representatives and students.

“We’ll look for credentials; we’ll look at their ability to answer tough questions in a tough setting,” Gounaris said in March. “They (the next principal) have to run a building — a building that’s got a budget — and they need to be able to take care of that building within the confines of that budget.”

In a phone interview Tuesday, Gounaris said the candidate the district selected is “very experienced with incredible references.”

“We’re very fortunate to have been able to get such a talented gentleman,” he said.  

Celano said the board’s choice was one of the three people the board interviewed. Celano added that the district had posted the job in the New York Times and on various listservs throughout the state. In total about 50 people applied for the position.

“We had a very strong pool of candidates,” he said.

The interview process, Gounaris said, was “very thorough.”

“All the candidates were exceptional candidates and they all would have done a fantastic job,” he said. “But the person we selected just had a that extra bit of spark and seemed to just be the one that would fit best with our students and our community.”

Reach reporter James Galloway by e-mail at jgalloway@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.

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