How Valley Stream turns the Lights On

John Squadrito has been organizing Lights On For Education for the past nine years.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

The Valley Stream Council of PTAs hosted the 51st annual Lights On For Education event on April 26 at Memorial Junior High School with students, teachers and administrators from all 14 Valley Stream schools showcasing their hard work for all to see.

It was easy for the hundreds of community members in attendance to get a look at all of the students’ hard work, but the months of preparation that goes into planning Lights On often goes unnoticed.

John Squadrito, assistant principal at Memorial, has coordinated Lights On for the past nine years. He said he is already planning for next year’s event by selecting a date for the Lights On before the district calendars are printed.

Once a date, usually a Thursday in April, is chosen, Squadrito begins making calls to the representatives of the PTA, elementary districts and high school buildings to see what they plan on presenting.

“Based on what they give me, it’s my responsibility to make sure that the room is adequate enough for their presentations as far as space,” Squadrito said. “I’m the one who builds the program, so when I start getting responses, I mark on my program where the people are going to be and what they’re doing.”

In December, Squadrito sends out a major notice reminding the representatives that Lights On is fast approaching and that he needs information from them. He said there is the occasional last minute change, but for the most part the program is all set before it goes for review by the high school district administration.

Johane Ligonde, principal of Shaw Avenue School, completed her first year as the Lights On representative for District 30. “It was amazing,” Ligonde said of the event. “You can tell that the kids are working really hard and their creativity is really coming out. In an era of testing, that was refreshing to see.”

Squadrito said the theme for each year’s event is a play on the words “Lights” and “Education.” This year, the theme was, “The Light Within that Brightens the Path.”

When the morning of Lights On rolls around each year, it is a busy time. During the day, Memorial is used as a junior high school, but in the afternoon, faculty, staff and maintenance workers from around Valley Stream gather at the school to help set up their respective district’s work.

“That afternoon is a little nerve racking as far as setting everything up,” Squadrito said, “but once the evening comes and I’m in the process of doing my opening remarks, it’s just a sense of relief because I know we’re ready to go.”

Once the ribbon is cut and Lights On officially begins, Squadrito and the dozens of other people who worked so hard to coordinate the event get to tour Memorial and see what students at each school have been working on.

Stephanie Capozzoli, principal of Willow Road School, has been the Lights On representative for District 13 for the last nine years. She said the teachers select one piece of work from every student in the district, which has nearly 2,200 children, to display at Lights On. The district also has a committee of volunteers devoted to Lights On who help transport and set up the student projects.

“I may be listed as the coordinator but it truly is everybody,” Capozzoli said. “If you don’t have people that will help and pitch in, then you don’t have a committee, so this is something that’s a labor of love.”

Students, faculty and administrators from District 24 showcased the Emotional Literacy program at Lights On, which enables students to better manage their emotions while immersing them in reading.

“It’s a great sense of pride to see the hard work of the students and the teachers come together to be celebrated and shared with the other students and parents of the district,” said Dr. Scott Comis, principal of Brooklyn Avenue School and Lights On coordinator for District 24 for the last four years.

“It also gives me great pleasure to see the excitement in the children when they speak about the Emotional Literacy program,” Comis said, “how it has helped them and how they apply it to their studies.”

The process may be long for Squadrito and the dozens of other educators and staff members, but when it finally comes time for Lights On, the whole process becomes very rewarding.

“I take pride in it because I kind of put it all together,” Squadrito said, “but I’m also amazed at the quality and the dedication of our teachers and students once it comes together.”