To the East Meadow High School community, Richard Howard has long been a guiding presence — as a teacher, administrator, and finally, principal. His entire career as an educator has been spent in East Meadow, and it will come to a close at the end of the school year as he retires, concluding a full-circle journey in the very halls where it all began.
Howard, a 1989 graduate of East Meadow High School, was both a student-athlete and a budding artist. He went on to attend St. John’s University, where he continued to play baseball, eventually spending a year in the minor leagues after college.
In 1995, he returned to his alma mater as a substitute teacher, after being encouraged by his former baseball coach to take up a position. It wasn’t long before Howard discovered his passion for education. Inspired to teach art, he returned to school to earn his teaching certification.
The following year, he began teaching full-time — and never looked back. Howard went on to serve as a dean in 2001, assistant principal in 2002, and principal in 2008. Now, as his chapter with the district comes to an end, the school’s administration, teachers, faculty members and students are reflecting on the lasting impact of his leadership in the East Meadow community.
“Working with him has been amazing — it really has,” Christina Egan, an assistant principal at the high school for the last eight years said. “I feel like I learned a lot from him. He’s a great mentor, but he also just puts a lot of faith in your professionalism, in your decision making. He works with us as a total team.”
“I think the biggest thing about Mr. Howard is his ability to be empathetic, not just for students as learners or teachers as educators, but empathetic to everybody as people,” Drew Genoino, another assistant principal in the high school said.
East Meadow High School students told the Herald that Howard is a constant, visible presence — whether cheering on teams at sporting events or walking the school grounds to ensure they’re clean, welcoming, and safe for everyone.
“He’s a great principal,” Owen Smith, a senior on the baseball team said. “He’s always there supporting the games. It’s always good to see him in the crowd — it’s good to have a principal that’s involved not only in the school, but after school, and in the community as well.”
“I love the way he supports our school athletics and shows up to all games,” Angelina Cronin, a sophomore on the basketball team said. “I love the fact that he’s always there greeting us in the morning. Anytime I see him in the hallway, he always puts a big smile on my face and asks how I am — I just want to thank him for creating such a positive environment.”
Carly Salzman, a counselor at East Meadow High School, is also one of Howard’s former students. A 2013 graduate, Salzman said she was heavily involved in school activities during her time as a student and got to know Howard well — a relationship that has continued and evolved in her role as a colleague.
“It’s been wonderful,” she said. “We have such nice relationship and he’s such a good person. What I love most is he’s a human being first before he’s a boss — and I think that is so important in his role, especially being in charge of such a large school with so many people working under him.”
Frank Baglivo, chairperson of the English and social studies departments at the high school, has worked under Howard for the past decade. When Howard announced his retirement during a faculty meeting earlier this school year, Baglivo said the feeling in the room was palpable — a mix of disbelief and emotion that served as a true testament to the kind of leader and mentor Howard has been to so many.
“Richard has had a profound impact on me, especially my growth as an educator,” Baglivo said. “He’s done so many things, from support my ideas that I brought to him to talking me down when I might have been emotional about something. He’s given me such great ideas. I’ve always loved that, and I’ve always been impressed at how he’s able to juggle so many things.”
Chris Bonacorsa, the high school’s music chairperson, told the Herald that Howard was named an honorary member of the district’s Tri-M Music Honor Society, a rare honor for non-musicians, because of his dedication to art and music.
“He has consistently gone above and beyond, helping us grow into one of the strongest music programs on Long Island and one of the top 100 schools for music in the nation,” he said. “His support has been absolutely crucial to our success.”
Howard reflected on several points of pride from his tenure, including the school’s ability to uphold high academic standards while still preserving the aspects of the educational journey that make students enjoy coming to school.
He added he’s humbled by the incredible relationship he’s had with teachers throughout the years, emphasizing that they’ve trusted him with important decisions. “They have truly allowed me to just make decisions — that sometimes are really tough, that sometimes they disagree with — but they respect that it’s coming from a good place,” he said.
For Howard, it all comes down to relationships — and that, he said, will be the hardest part to leave behind. “The relationships with everybody — students, teachers, faculty, that’s probably what I’m going to miss the most,” he said.
Egan said a few years ago, school and community leaders produced a slogan for the high school, all rooted in leaving an impactful legacy.
“The slogan is start your journey, leave your legacy,” she said, “and I truly believe he did just that. The effects that he has had on this school will be tremendous. He started his journey here as a student, and his legacy will be here forever.”
