School News

Two schools are better than one

Seaford welcomes new elementary assistant principal

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Two years as a central administrator was an enjoyable experience for Caroline Schozer, but something was lacking. She missed the day-to-day operations of a school, and that is what brought her to Seaford as the new elementary assistant principal.

Schozer splits her time between the Seaford Harbor and Seaford Manor schools. She is the rare administrator to have two offices, though much of her time is spent out and about. “I really missed being in a building and being with the children,” she said.

She moved to Valley Stream when she was 10, and graduated from Central High School. Schozer returned to the community to begin her teaching career. Following two years as a fourth-grade teacher at a Catholic school, she spent the next decade teaching different elementary grades at the William L. Buck School in Valley Stream District 24.

Floral Park was her next stop, where she was an elementary assistant principal, working in a building with nearly 900 students, and later assistant to the superintendent for curriculum and instruction. After 11 years there, she moved to Valley Stream District 13 as coordinator of curriculum and assessment.

In Seaford, Schozer replaces Patricia Gelling, who retired in June after 20 years in the district.

Schozer has spent most of her career in elementary school districts, so coming to Seaford is a welcome change. She is excited by the prospect of working closely with administrators at the middle and high school level.

She is not learning the district alone. Among her fellow administrators are two other newcomers to Seaford, middle school Assistant Principal Thomas Burke and high school Assistant Principal Jessica Sventoraitis. She described her colleagues as nice, down to earth people and hard workers.

While working in two buildings could be a challenge for some, Schozer said it is what she signed up for. She spends two full days a week at Manor, two at Harbor and splits between the two the other day.

Knowing that she is not at the same school two days in a row, Schozer said she knows she has to “tie up all the loose ends” before she goes home every night.

Both principals, Debra Emmerich and Donna Troisi, are a pleasure to work with, she said. Schozer said they are both competent administrators who run their buildings efficiently and know what needs to get done. She wants to support them any way she can.

“Mrs. Schozer is a high energy, eager, and dedicated administrator,” Emmerich said. “She brings ideas and experiences from her former districts which provides us a new perspective. We are looking forward to an exciting and productive school year.”

Among Schozer’s responsibilities are conducting teacher observations, working on curriculum, morning bus duty and supervising the lunch room. Schozer said she wants to be a resource for the teachers, and hopes her two years of curriculum leadership in Valley Stream can be an asset, especially since that was a time when Common Core was being implemented.

In both schools, children come first, and this is why Schozer said she wanted to come to Seaford. Her goal is simple — to do the best possible job she can for the students.

Schozer said she has a collaborative leadership style and believes everyone’s input is important. She also plans to be visible in her two schools, and hopes to spend a chunk of time each day visiting classrooms. One of her favorites parts of the job is talking to children about what they are learning.

Fresh starts are common in her family this year. Her son, Derek, went off to college. He attends Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. In addition to school and talking long distance with her son, Schozer finds time for gardening and baking.

In her first few weeks on the job, Schozer can’t think of anything she would change. The staff, parents and students have all been a delight. “I can’t even express in words how welcoming everyone has been,” she said. “It’s just a really nice feeling. I feel like I’ve been here for a long time.”