Congratulations to Walt Whitman High School Assistant Principal Dr. Scott Muller who has been selected as the 2025 New York State Assistant Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS). This award is given annually by SAANYS and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) to a middle or high school assistant principal who has set the pace, character, and quality of education for the students in his or her school. Nominees are administrators who are committed to students, parents, and the community, and have shown exceptional contributions to the educational process. “It’s such an honor,” said Dr. Muller.  “It’s nice to know I have had a positive impact on many facets of the educational community. The process of being nominated and then being given the award has forced me to reflect upon my career, focusing not only on the great things that have happened already but also on things that I still want to do in my career.” 

Dr. Muller has been Assistant Principal at Walt Whitman High School for 19 years. For him, that role is all about connecting; how he’s interacting with the many different components that keep a school running successfully: the principal, the staff, the students, the families, and the community. “The main goal is to support the vision of the principal, but also to make sure you're connecting with kids and families,” explained Dr. Muller. “You need leadership and you need management in a school. And a lot of the management usually falls on the assistant principal and the leadership falls on the principal. But there are many times that if you have the right principal who allows you to shine with your leadership, and if you have the right person as assistant principal, then you can bring out that leadership aspect as well.” 

That collaboration has been an asset for Walt Whitman High School. Dr. Muller was nominated for this recognition by the principal he has worked closely with for the last ten years, Dr. John Murphy. “Dr. Muller’s compassion and empathy towards all students, and in particular, our special education population and our ENL students, is a huge part of our success. Even though we have a diverse school, he makes sure that every one of those students feel important, valued and reach their fullest potential.

As seriously as he takes his job to make a difference in students’ lives, Dr. Muller is always willing to poke fun at himself, and his students love it. Every year, you’ll see him in several student-run productions, including Video Yearbook skits and Senior Follies, where the seniors perform Saturday Night Live-type sketches about their teachers and life at school. He is also always more than willing to take part in the annual PTA Lip Sing for Scholarships battle where teams of administrators, teachers and staff from each of the district’s seven schools lip sync to costumed and choreographed numbers to win money that goes toward district scholarships. 

At this point in his career, Dr. Muller admits he can’t imagine himself doing anything else but being an educator and assistant principal at Whitman. But his original career goal was to become a doctor, and he spent four years in pre-med at Binghamton University. There came a point, though, when he realized that he “couldn’t be the doctor he wanted to be” thanks to things like all the paperwork and dealing with insurance companies. So he thought back to his childhood when his grandfather was a head custodian for a Long Island school district. “If they were getting rid of things, like books, he would sometimes bring them home. And there was an old chalkboard he brought home as well. And my sister and I used to play school in the basement. School was always a fun place for me. It was a safe place for me,” said Dr. Muller.  

So with his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology already on his wall, he went on to get his Masters in Elementary Education from Dowling College. That led to his first education job teaching science at Deer Park High School. Then, in 2006, opportunity brought him here to South Huntington. He then received his Post-Master’s Certification in School District Administration from SUNY Stony Brook, and his Doctorate of Education in Educational Administration and Supervision from St. John’s University. 

Dr. Muller will be presented with his Assistant Principal of the Year award at a special ceremony in Albany on May 2nd, and he’s looking forward to the chance to say more than a few words at that time about the community he loves. “I want to praise South Huntington. I love the communication between the school and the community, and that we’re always looking for ways to improve. We’re creating the future. I love that we never think we’re done,” said Dr. Muller.