Port Ed. Board welcomes 4 new administrators

Luke Torrance
The Port Washington School District Board of Education during a meeting. (Photo by Luke Torrance)

The Port Washington Board of Education kicked off the 2018-19 school year at a meeting Tuesday night by introducing four new administrators.

“It was an opportunity for the new people to say hi and introduce themselves,” said Karen Sloan, the board’s president.

The new administrators are Stephanie Allen, the executive director of pupil personnel services; Joane Vincent, the assistant director of pupil personnel services; Andrew Akapnitis, the director of guidance; and Danielle Mattina, associate administrator for elementary literacy for grades three through six.

Allen previously served as the assistant director of pupil personnel services and was promoted to executive director when Mehri Fryzel retired at the end of the 2017-18 school year. The other three new administrators were brought in to replace those who had either retired or move up; Akapnitis is replacing Hank Hardy who — like Fryzel — retired at the end of the last school year.

Aside from the new staff introductions, the brief meeting was mostly concerned with housekeeping. Teachers were appointed to head extracurricular organizations, teacher mentors and noninstructional staff appointments were approved, and disposal of outdated equipment was approved.

The district also accepted several donations for school supplies, among them a $14,609.47 gift from an anonymous donor toward the purchase of 12 Chromebooks and 20 iPads for the John J. Daly Elementary School. But the biggest donation was a $25,000 grant from the Ed. Foundation for the establishment of a STEM lab at Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School.

I think it is incredibly exciting. We’re going to be able to do amazing things for the kids because they all go through [Weber],” Sloan said. “The staff has been working together to set up this program, and it’s exciting when everyone’s working together. And I’m very grateful to the Ed. Foundation, of course.”

The Ed. Foundation gave 49 grants totaling more than $150,000 to Port Washington schools for the 2018-19 academic year.

Reach reporter Luke Torrance by email at ltorrance@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 214, or follow him on Twitter @LukeATorrance.

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