Jodi Shapiro, the Manhasset School District’s assistant director of the Committee on Preschool Education and Elementary Special Education, died on July 13 after a brief illness. She was 39.
Shapiro joined the Manhasset School District in 2009 as the district coordinator of the Committee on Preschool Education and Elementary Education, responsible for implementing the district’s special education programs to Shelter Rock Elementary School, Munsey Park Elementary School, Our Lady of Grace Montessori School & Center and at St. Mary’s Elementary School.
“She had a tremendous passion for what she did and had a tireless commitment to the students at Munsey Park and Shelter Rock whom she worked with,” said Charles Cardillo, Superintendent of Schools. “A tremendous void has been created in the district because she had this enthusiasm, and her work on the day-to-day part of the operation was a real asset to the overall program as we worked with the needs of the special education population.”
In June 2012, Shapiro was granted tenure and recognized by the Manhasset Board of Education, and received her most recent title of Assistant Director of CPSE and Elementary Special Education.
“Jodi brought a level of caring and compassion to her job that’s rarely found, that’s probably the best way to put it,” said Regina Rule, president of the Manhasset Board of Education. “She put the needs of the children first. She’s left big shoes to fill.”
Shapiro also chaired many Committee for Special Education meetings and was an executive board member with the Long Island Association of Special Education Administrators, which has more than 500 members.
Prior to joining the Manhasset School District, Shapiro worked in the Amityville School District for three years as an administrator in special education.
According to a school district statement regarding Shapiro’s passing that appeared on the district’s Web site, “she will be remembered as a tenacious, detail-oriented and dedicated individual who always loved and served her children with her heart and soul.”
“Jodi Shapiro earned the respect of those who worked with her,” said Jean Kendall, principal of Munsey Park Elementary School. “Jodi will be missed. She left us too soon. Our hearts are with her fiancé and her family at this difficult time.”
Shapiro grew up in Massapequa, attended the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County and taught Hebrew at Congregation Beth-El in Massapequa. She earned her undergraduate degree from Hofstra University and her master’s degree from Adelphi University.
Shapiro’s father, Michael, described Jodi as someone always wanting to help in whatever way she could and never asking for anything in return.
“She was that type of person, a get involved-type of person,” Michael said.
Michael said Jodi also loved sports, having played soccer and basketball at Massapequa High School and regularly attending Islanders and Mets games, as the family had season tickets.
“She would arrange her schedule at work to be able to go to Islander games,” Michael said. “Up through today, she was a partial season ticket-holder for the Mets. She just loved sports and to throw a ball around.”
Jodi Shapiro is survived by her parents, Michael and Peggy; her sister and brother-in-law, Lori and Rama Nabavian; her brother, Mark Shapiro; and her nieces and nephews Skyler, Sydney and Sasha Nabavian, and Jason and Steven Shapiro. She had recently been engaged to her fiancé, Chris Wowk, a sergeant in the New York City Police Department.
