Congratulations to Maria Colon in her new role as the principal of Maplewood Intermediate School! It’s a school she knows very well after spending 24 years there as a teacher before leaving to become the assistant principal at Oakwood Primary Center. She moved into the principal’s office at Maplewood on July 1st.
“I'm thrilled because I think that my experience in kindergarten through second grade [at Oakwood] is going to help me coming back to Maplewood because I'm so familiar now with what they’ve learned in Oakwood and Countrywood. And now we hopefully take them from acting like and being treated like very young children to now being treated like preteens academically and socially. What we’re doing at Maplewood is getting them prepared now for sixth grade and for middle school,” said Ms. Colon.
Ms. Colon grew up in Uniondale. Her involvement in a Nassau County youth group, the Youth Participation Project, helped her realize she wanted to work with kids. The group was all about youth empowerment, helping children develop, make good choices, and learn about the opportunities that are out there for them. She credits the program’s director, Kathryn Chandross, with being a huge influence in her life, helping her find her voice and her confidence as a young adult.
Ms. Colon received her Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY New Paltz with a major in Elementary Education, grades nursery to six. Six years later she was awarded a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Stony Brook University. She stayed with Stony Brook University for her Advanced Graduate Certificate, and School District Leader and School Building Administration certificates.
“I bounced between secondary education as an English teacher or elementary education. But I just loved the little ones after visiting classrooms and seeing the difference between the two age groups. I knew that I wanted to work with younger kids,” said Ms. Colon.
After spending a year teaching in Poughkeepsie, Ms. Colon was very happy to secure an interview with the South Huntington School District so she could return to Long Island and be with her family. She was hired as a teacher at Maplewood in 1995 where she taught third grade, fourth grade dual language, and fifth grade for 24 years until she left in 2019 to become the assistant principal at Oakwood.
When the opportunity arose to become principal at Maplewood, she was excited to be considered because she finally felt ready to run her own building. “I found that I wanted to make a bigger impression on a larger group of students. Working with children, you learn that all of them are different. And also they always surprise you, even in their toughest moments. This resilience that they have isn't always seen. But when it comes out, it's mind blowing,” said Ms. Colon.
As she makes plans with her team this summer for the direction in which she’ll take Maplewood come September, Principal Colon wants the South Huntington family to know that her door will always be open. “I'm always here to listen. And if they need me at any time, they could always reach out or reach back, even if they've left the building. This is their home and we're here to help and support them,” said Ms. Colon. And “going to the principal’s office” won’t be a bad thing. “This [the principal’s office] is a part of the school and this is where we help students learn. So if they make mistakes, we talk it out, we figure it out, we try to find other choices that would've been better.”
Best of luck in your new role, Ms. Colon!