Three new Assistant Principals will be greeting students in the fall at Stimson Middle School. Two of the new hires fill existing positions while the third is a new position. One is already a part of the South Huntington family while the other two educators come to us from other Long Island school districts. All three administrators began their new jobs on July 1st.
The structure follows what the South Huntington Board of Education believes has been a successful model at Walt Whitman High School - an Assistant Principal for each grade, and an Assistant Principal for the Main Office The 7th and 8th grade Assistant Principals’ primary focus is on the students and their parents making sure their educational needs are being met and that they have extracurricular support. The Main Office AP will work closely with the principal and handle a lot of the day-to-day running of a large building, including teacher, student and test scheduling; organizing special events, activities and assemblies; and interacting with the counseling and guidance departments.
“It's really a great opportunity to get to know kids really well and support them as best we can before they move on to the high school,” said Stimson Principal Michael Duggan. “It's a great opportunity for me to focus a lot more on those bigger philosophical pieces of what I think Stimson can be in the future. This is allowing me to not only think ‘big picture,’ but actually act on a lot of things that I've been kind of chomping at the bit to do for the last couple of years. I’d like to work more with parents to motivate kids to do more community service and give back to charities. And I’d like to have more involvement between Stimson and Whitman.”
James Tomeo will be the Assistant Principal for grade 7. He moves to Stimson from Maplewood Intermediate School where he has been a teacher since 2021. A career in education wasn’t his original path. “My mom passed away when I was really young,” explained Mr. Tomeo. “And I had some inspiring teachers throughout my life. That had a really big impact on me so I felt like I wanted to make a difference in my community and in the education field. So I got on my board of education. And through that work I was inspired to go back and do a career change to go into education.” After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, he got a Master of Arts in Childhood Education from Fordham University, and his School District & Building Leadership Advanced Certificate from Long Island University. Mr. Tomeo is currently the president of the Elwood School District Board of Education.
Thomas DeMartinis will be Assistant Principal for grade 8. He has been teaching Social Studies in grades 7 through 12 in the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District for the last eight years. His subjects have included US History and Government, Global History, Contemporary Social Issues, and News Literacy. “I have made prioritizing student relationships a cornerstone of my classroom culture. I make it a point to understand who my students are and what they care about when outside of my classroom, in the hopes that I can motivate them into learning once inside my classroom. I think this has been one of my ultimate reasons for moving into administration. My goal is to transport that type of positive environment, one where students feel valued, understood, and safe to take measured risks, from the classroom to the building level,” explained Mr. DeMartinis. He has a B.A. in History and in Political Science from the University at Buffalo, a Master of Arts in Teaching (Social Studies Grades 7-12) from Stony Brook University, and earned his Advanced Certificate in Educational Leadership from Long Island University.
Elizabeth Keating will be Assistant Principal for the Main Office. She comes to South Huntington from 17 years at Sewanhaka High School as a science teacher and Assistant Science Chairperson. In fact, science research was her first career path. After getting her Bachelor of Science from the University of Rhode Island, Ms. Keating worked for Pall Corporation as Senior Laboratory Analyst. She then realized her true calling was to be an educator. “The decision to transition into teaching was influenced by my own experiences as a student and by mentors who encouraged me to be a lifelong learner. Witnessing how educators could ignite sparks of understanding and curiosity in their students inspired me immensely. After seventeen years of teaching students in grades 7-12, I felt ready to share my experiences, gain new experiences, and help lead a school community,” said Ms. Keating. She has an M.A. from Adelphi University in Secondary Education in Science and an Advanced Certificate in School Building and District Leadership from St. John’s University.
The new Assistant Principals replace Anthony Sansotta who retired this June after 22 years, and Wayne Cronk who was serving as Interim Assistant Principal.
Principal Duggan is planning a “Meet the New APs Night” for the Stimson community so students and parents can learn more about the new Assistant Principals and their grade-specific responsibilities. “Whenever you have a problem, they're going to help find a solution for you. They're going to be your contact, they're going to be your point person, and they're going to work hard to make sure your child is feeling safe and learning as much as they possibly can,” said Mr. Duggan.