Pirrone’s legacy lives on in District 24

Former District 24 administrator Diana Pirrone continues to live on in memory. Friends of Bridge presented awards to the winners of its Diana Pirrone Essay Contest at the June 15 Board of Education meeting.

Pirrone, a former principal at the William L. Buck School and later assistant superintendent of the district, died in 2009 at the age of 64. She was active with Friends of Bridge, a substance abuse treatment facility in Valley Stream.

The essay contest, held for the second year, asked students to write about the negative consequences of substance abuse and other poor choices, and about the positive results of making healthy lifestyle decisions. The winners, from sixth grade, were Jane Khan from the Brooklyn Avenue School, Victoria Parente from the William L. Buck School and Amberley Vulaj from the Robert W. Carbonaro School.

Members of Pirrone’s family, who attended the awards presentation, donated money for scholarships for the essay winners. Each child received $100.

Additionally, each child’s name was added to a plaque that hangs in each school, noting the winners of the essay contest.

The essays were judged by Carbonaro School Principal Dr. Lisa Conte, Friends of Bridge Past President Barbara DeGrace and the three District 24 librarians. Conte said the judges looked for essays that were well-researched and in which students expressed their own ideas and thoughts.

“It was more than just straight facts,” she said of the three winning entries. “Innovative thinking, that’s what we were looking for.”

Conte expressed confidence that the three essay winners will be leaders when they enter the high school district in the fall, and will know what to do in the face of peer pressure.

DeGrace noted that Pirrone always taught children that substance abuse was wrong at any level, and wanted to help them build strong character so they would be able to say “no” to drugs. Pirrone had served on the Friends of Bridge Board of Directors.

She was also active in the Lynbrook-East Rockaway Rotary Club, which also honored three students in Pirrone’s memory on June 15. The Diana Pirrone Service Above Self award went to three sixth-grade students who have overcome various obstacles in their life, and demonstrated determination, tenacity, optimism and persistence.

The recipients were Graydon Massiah from the Brooklyn Avenue School, Dennis Cortez from the Buck School and Christopher Kotz from the Carbonaro School.

Bruce Lean, from the Rotary Club, said members had initially considered awarding high school scholarships but decided to partner with the elementary school district instead. “Diana’s passion was elementary education,” he said.

Lean added that he wants to keep Pirrone’s passion for helping others alive. “She lived the Rotary model of service above self,” he said. “She believed in community service and doing for others.”