Meet the new Lincoln Orens Middle School principal

Island Park’s Licoln Orens Middle School found its replacement for nine-year principal Dr. Thalia Venditti in a highly regarded New York City principal with Nassau County roots.

John Barnes, who has been a principal in New York for eight years, grew up in Long Beach. “I have roots in the community,” Barnes said. “I love this neighborhood and I feel very excited to be able to come back professionally.”

Barnes has an extensive resume that includes teaching social studies, fourth grade and music and working as a curriculum writer. Most recently, Barnes was chosen in 2008 as one of five people in the Manhattan school district to work as an executive principal. The job of an executive principal is to turn around a failing school, and Barne’s school was regarded as the most improved school in 2008.

Though it is early in the academic year, Barnes said he is exited to bring his experience to a smaller, tight-knit community. “I feel like with the district being small, it calls for people to wear different hats, to play different roles,” said Barnes. “We have such caring and committed teachers and such wonderful families, I’m so excited to be here.”

At the Island Park school board meeting on Sept. 26, Barnes detailed some of his plans for the middle school to build on the positive assessment scores and improve those that were disappointing. “I think they are a great opportunity for us to revisit some of the structures and systems in such a way that we are really meeting the needs of our students,” Barnes said “Middle schools are, in my opinion, the most important time for students because by the time they go to high school, they need to be able to think critically and be able to problem solve, among other things.”

Among Barnes proposed ideas is to attempt to individualize certain aspects of the curriculum, focusing on certain areas for different groups of students depending on their need. “You build off student’s strengths,” he explained. “If I’m reading a novel with a group of students and realizing some are struggling with sequence of events, we can group the students that have trouble with that and provide them with opportunities to achieve mastery.”

Barnes said that he looks forward to having a long, successful run as a principal in Island Park. “It’s been wonderful,” he said. “It’s a lot of work and its very hard coming in trying to learn and lead at the same time, but it’s been great.”