Carol Burris to be honored by BOCES

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South Side High School Principal Dr. Carol Burris will be one of 13 individuals honored as education partners by Nassau BOCES this spring.

The 13 award winners will be honored at the Nassau BOCES Educational Foundation’s Education Partner Awards Gala on March 25. BOCES created the award to properly recognize people, businesses and educators who work to ensure a successful, challenging, caring and safe environment in which students can achieve their maximum potential.

“Few have done more for education in New York State than Carol Burris,” wrote her award nominator. “I have worked with Carol for eight years and have seen her dedication and great efforts to create change, and to improve the quality of children’s education. Through her passionate belief in public education and her dedication to research, Dr. Burris has clearly shown that more must be done to improve the quality of education in the state of New York. Fellow educators, administrators, parents, students and public officials alike admire her for her courage and commitment.”

Burris is one of five administrators to be given the award. Also honored are BOCES employees, students, teachers and the Holocaust Memorial Tolerance Center and Long Island Cares, Inc.

BOCES chose Burris because of her dedication to making sure every student is given the best curriculum a school has to offer. She has done this at South Side by de-tracking students and making some of the most challenging and advanced curriculum available to all students. Everyone at SSHS takes IB English and History.

“There are none more deserving than Carol,” said Superintendent Dr. William Johnson. “She is consistently seen now as a leader on Long Island with administrators and has consistently demonstrated that ability through her writing, her connection with the public and parents on some very difficult and complicated issues.”

Burris has been a respected voice in the education community for years. She has published articles in The Washington Post and numerous education journals, has appeared on a variety of television broadcasts including CBS News, and earned numerous awards for her work. In 2003 she earned the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Middle Level Dissertation of the Year award. In 2010, she was named an Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York. And in 2013, she received NASSP’s New York State High School Principal of the Year award.