Levittown names new super

On May 7, the Levittown School District Board of Education appointed Dr. Tonie McDonald the district’s next superintendent of schools, effective July 1.

“The Board of Education has taken the responsibility of selecting a new superintendent very seriously,” said board President Kevin Regan. “After input from all of the district’s stakeholders, and as a result of working with a professional national search firm, we are extremely confident that Dr. McDonald possesses the professionalism, experience, character, communication skills and vision to lead our school district to even greater levels of success.”

McDonald, the assistant superintendent for business and administration in the Plainedge Union Free School District and a former Levittown administrator as well, will become the first female superintendent in the district’s history, She said she was excited about the opportunity. “I believe all superintendents, regardless of gender, face the same challenges and share the mutual goals of providing the highest-quality education possible to enable all students to reach their potential,” she said. “As the first female superintendent of the Levittown School District, I hope to serve as a role model to women in education who aspire to leadership positions.”

The district used the services of a national leadership search firm, which conducted an online survey to determine the qualifications most important to members of the community. The responses played a major role in defining the final criteria for the selection of candidates. From a pool of more than 25 highly qualified applicants, the search firm selected and presented five candidates for the board’s consideration.

“Dr. McDonald is an outstanding choice,” said Regan. “Her professional qualifications, combined with her prior experience working in our school district, made her the majority choice of the board.”

“I would like to thank the Board of Education for the confidence they have shown in me,” McDonald said. “I’m looking forward to working with the Board of Education, administrators, staff, parents, students and community residents to move our students and school district to the next level of success.”

Before she came to Plainedge, McDonald was an adjunct professor at both Hofstra University and Dowling College, and had served in several positions in the Levittown district as well, including assistant superintendent for business and finance, director of pupil services, social studies chair and district testing data coordinator.

She earned a B.A. and a master’s in secondary education at Adelphi University, and a doctorate in education at Hofstra.