Roslyn Schools welcome more than 40 new hires and anticipate completed Heights School

Teri West
New Roslyn Public Schools faculty and staff were welcomed to the district at the first Board of Education meeting of the academic year. (Photo: Teri West)

School construction and the hiring of 42 new staff and faculty kept Roslyn School District busy over the summer, hard work that made for a smooth kick-off to the academic year, district officials said at a Board of Education meeting Thursday.

The summer construction was part of the district’s $40 million capital improvement plan, and much of the work was at Heights School.

It opened for students on Sept. 5 and will completed in “the coming months,” the district’s director of community relations Barry Edelson wrote in an email. The school is getting a new main entrance and library.

“Heights when it’s finally done, let me tell you, that building is transformed and it is beautiful,” Roslyn School District Board of Education President Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy said.

Completed projects include a new secure visitor entrance at Roslyn High School and refurbished athletic fields at Harbor Hill School.

Waxman Ben-Levy praised the board’s dedication while school was out of session. 

“In the summer, at 6:45 in the morning with no notice and before work and everything – ‘come to a board meeting, construction needs to move along,’” she said. “Thank you so much for being so willing to put everything aside and come together to do what the community needs.”

Board Vice President Clifford Saffron also noted the patience of residents who endured the dusty side effects of school construction.

New staff and faculty overwhelmingly filled the board meeting audience. Smiling newcomers, from kindergarten to music teachers, stood as they were individually introduced and applauded.

“The most important work we did this summer was finding the right people to become part of the Roslyn team,” Superintendent Allison Brown said.

Reach reporter Teri West by email at twest@theislandnow.com, by phone at 215-307-1045, ext. 215, or follow her on Twitter @mango266.

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