Schools

Merrick schools assistant superintendent moving on

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After serving as an assistant superintendent of the Merrick Elementary School District for seven years, Lisa Ruiz will begin a new job as superintendent of the East Rockaway School District on Aug. 1.

Dr. Jill Karp, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Sachem Central School District, will succeed Ruiz at the end of July as Merrick’s assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and student services.

Ruiz first became Merrick’s assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services in 2006. Before that, she was director of pupil services in the Levittown School District for five years, principal of Levittown’s Abbey Lane Elementary School for two years, and an assistant to the principal and resource room teacher at Bellmore’s Shore Road School and Reinhard Early Childhood Center for 13 years. In East Rockaway, she will take over as superintendent from Dr. Roseanne Melucci, wife of Dr. Ranier Melucci, whom Ruiz served under from 2006 to 2012, when he was superintendent of the Merrick School District. Roseanne Melucci will retire this month, as her husband did in June 2012.

Speaking at the East Rockaway Board of Education meeting on the night the board appointed her as East Rockaway’s next superintendent, Ruiz said, “It’s an honor and privilege to be appointed … as superintendent of the East Rockaway School District. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me to join such an outstanding school district and community.”

Karp has overseen classroom teaching in Sachem’s 12 elementary schools for the past six years, according to a letter from Merrick Superintendent Dr. Dominick Palma. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Syracuse University, a master’s degree in elementary education and teaching from New York University and a doctorate in general educational leadership and administration from Dowling College. Prior to working at Sachem, Karp was director of English language arts, social studies and funded programs in the East Meadow School District for four years, director of program for Board of Education initiatives at the YMCA of Greater New York for six years and a preschool teacher in private schools in Manhattan for three years.

“Current coworkers have described Dr. Karp as a bright, trustworthy, supportive, respectful, child-oriented and a hard worker,” Palma stated in his letter. “She brings a deep knowledge of child development, the Common Core Learning Standards, literacy, professional development, curriculum planning and regulatory requirements.”