Long before André Poprilo took over as principal of Baldwin High School, his mother sat her self-described hyperactive 10-year-old son down at a piano.
He hated it.
But within a few years, Poprilo began to see the instrument differently. Music became part of his identity, eventually taking him to LaGuardia High School, the performing arts school in Manhattan, and the Crane School of Music, in Potsdam— and launching a career in education that, 29 years later, has brought him to the principal’s office.
“I started around 10 years old, and I think it was about 12 years old, maybe 13, that I felt like it was interesting to me,” Poprilo said.
“Music, in a weird way, is part of the architecture of my thinking,” he added, “and it helps me to be a better leader.”
After more than a decade in the Baldwin school district, most recently as its director of fine and performing arts, Poprilo, 51, became principal on July 1.
He had not originally envisioned a career in administration. After studying music, he began his professional life giving private lessons, and discovered that teaching was fulfilling in a way he had not expected. At the time, he thought he would make it his career, but mentor Gregory Ilaw encouraged Poprilo to consider a different path.
“He told me I was capable of more and it gave me a push,” Poprilo said.
With encouragement from Ilaw and other mentors, Poprilo began taking additional classes, and eventually landed his first administrative position in the Copiague School District. What started as an unexpected career turn became his professional identity for the next two decades.
He came to Baldwin after searching for a district that aligned with his desire to work with diverse communities, and that valued the arts and a holistic educational experience. Baldwin was among the handful of districts that most interested him, he said.
“Getting to know the incredible talent of the students,” he said, asked why he wanted to become principal. “How hard they work, getting to know the aspirational desires of parents and how much they support their children and the schools.”
“I believe in the mission,” he added. “I believe in the work of the superintendent. It just seemed like something I should do.”
Poprilo learned that he would become the high school’s next principal after what he described as an exhaustive interview process. “It was a very humbling moment,” he said. “It was a moving moment, but also a very proud moment.”
His years in Baldwin have given him a close look at the culture of its students, and particularly the balance he sees between individual ambition and community. “Our students have figured out a way to be competitive with each other, but also supportive of each other,” Poprilo said.
He saw that dynamic firsthand as the high school prepared to welcome its newest students this year. During orientation, upperclassmen served as ambassadors, helping incoming freshmen navigate the building and adjust to their new surroundings.
“The building was so full of students helping one another,” Poprilo said, “and I think that’s something to be proud of. That makes them unique.”
Helping students prepare for futures tailored to their interests and abilities is among his priorities. He said he wants to refine the high school’s teaching, guidance and other systems to better develop those strengths.
“I want every student to be able to create a pathway for success — every student,” he said.
Reaching that goal, he explained, doesn’t require starting over. “There’s nothing broken in Baldwin,” Poprilo said. “There’s nothing lacking in the sense of what we’re doing, but we are knocking on the door of being regional and perhaps state leaders on a lot of things.”
He wants to better connect programs and departments, he said, that have developed their own areas of expertise. He calls the approach “professionalizing,” and it involves identifying effective methods in one area and adapting them for use throughout the high school.
For example, presentation techniques or communication methods developed by one department could serve as models elsewhere. “We can develop our own bank of best practices to strengthen our entire system,” he said.
Students would have a role in that exchange as well, making presentations to staff and their peers about how they developed approaches that could be adopted elsewhere in the school.
The idea draws on lessons Poprilo said he has carried with him from his musical training. He credits it with developing his sense of organization, creativity and attention to detail, as well as teaching him how to bring different groups together around a common goal.
His years in Baldwin have offered lessons of their own. Poprilo pointed to the district’s response to the coronavirus pandemic as one of the experiences that has stayed with him, recalling how teachers, students and parents navigated the uncertainty while finding ways to hold graduations and celebrate student performances and creativity.
“Watching the grace of all of the individuals as we worked through an enormously complex and frightening time — it was a very proud moment,” he said.
Superintendent Anthony Mignella said Poprilo’s more than a decade in the district has given him a strong understanding of Baldwin and its students.
“Mr. Poprilo has been an integral part of our Baldwin community for more than a decade, and throughout that time, he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to our students and their success,” Mignella said. “He possesses a deep understanding of our district’s values, strengths, and vision.”
As he takes on the new role, Poprilo said he brings with him a belief in pushing beyond perceived limits and using his leadership to strengthen the community he serves.
“I’ve never set limits for myself,” he said. “I believe that I’ve always believed that if given the opportunity, I can make an organization better. I can be helpful to the community I serve, and I’m genuinely interested in people and families, and building community.”
Away from school, Poprilo lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys cooking, learning new techniques and testing dishes on his family before serving them to guests.
“I enjoy smoking all kinds of meats; it forces me to slow down a bit,” Poprilo said.
At the end of his first year as principal, Poprilo said, he will measure success by the experience of the students, staff and families he serves. He hopes they will be able to look back on the year knowing they met their goals, and can see bright futures for themselves and their children.
“If they can say that,” Poprilo said, “I know that I’ve had a successful year.”
