Doing good things for LHS

Hurricane Sandy struck the Five Towns hard in 2012, severely damaging houses, businesses and school buildings, including Lawrence High School, with flooding and winds.

Lawrence High reopened a few weeks after the storm, but the water damage was so severe that the building eventually needed to be closed and repaired. That was when Bill Moss, who had come to the school district a year earlier, applied his Harvard-trained analytical mind to figure out how to cram the high school students into the middle school and half of the middle school students into one of the elementary schools — and coordinate class schedules.

“I was really proud to be able to do that, and, as an administrator, play a pivotal role,” Moss said of getting the operation running within 24 hours in early January 2013 so the high school could be shut down. “I’m still impressed by that feat.”

For that achievement, for overseeing several high school departments and for helping to enhance the district’s curriculum, Moss has been named the Council of Administrators & Supervisors 2017 Chairperson of the Year. The council is the largest professional organization of school administrators and supervisors on Long Island, with more than 1,300 members, according to its president, Albert “Skip” Voornerwald. “The award is an affirmation for people who have done good things for their schools,” Voornerwald said.

Moss, 39, who lives in Brentwood, has shown that he is capable of multitasking. He is chairman of the high school’s math, science and English as a New Language programs. “I think I’m able to do it because I picked up different departments over time,” said Moss, who is in his sixth year in the Lawrence School District. “If it was all at once, it would be harder. It’s doable because I [already] had some balls spinning in the air. I just added more balls.”

Lawrence High School Principal Dr. Jennifer Lagnado noted Moss’s work in moving the high school faculty and students after Sandy, his wide range of skills and his creation of the district’s bilingual program as the primary reasons district officials nominated him for the award.

“Having Mr. Moss receive this award and recognition from CAS is a testament of his and all [Association of Lawrence Administrators] members’ hard work and dedication to the Lawrence children and community,” said Lagnado, who is also president of the ALA.

Since his high school days, Moss has shown a knack for learning. He was Brentwood High School’s first semifinalist in the 1995 Westinghouse Science Talent Search, now the Regeneron Science Talent Search. He studied math education and child development at Harvard, and earned a master’s degree in social and moral development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Four years ago he began work on a doctorate from St. John’s University. The doctoral coursework is completed. Moss must now complete his dissertatio. He is the only new language bilingual certified administrator in the district.

“I’m really happy to be here,” Moss said. “Lawrence is a great place to grow, and there has been a great symbiotic relationship between me and Lawrence, and how Lawrence has responded to me.”

He pointed to all the hard work he, his fellow administrators and teachers have done to raise the high school’s graduation rates, especially for at-risk students. Last year, there was an 8 percent increase in the June graduation rate, and a 10 percent increase in August graduations, since 2010.

Moss also highlighted his contributions to the science curriculum — added with the approval of the superintendent and the Board of Education — including automotive, mechanical and computer science classes as well as Advanced Placement science courses. Two years ago, 3-D printing and college-level calculus were added. An app-writing class is being considered, he added.
“I’m really, really proud of the curriculum,” Moss said. “It keeps the students competitive. We work really hard in Lawrence, and to have my colleagues recognize the hard work, it means the world to me.”

Moss and several other award winners will be recognized at the Council of Administrators & Supervisors’ annual delegates meeting on March 16 at the Holiday Inn in Plainview.