Burnett begins new role as Landing Elementary principal

Jacklyn Burnett began her new job as the Principal of Landing Elementary School on July 1 after being appointed at the district’s June 22 board meeting. Burnett, 39, has come a long way from home. Originally from Sacramento, California, where she was born and raised, she attended University of California San Diego for her undergraduate degree. After taking a job in commercial real estate, Burnett realized the field was not for her and returned to school, earning a master’s degree in special education.

At the time she earned her master’s, Burnett’s husband Craig, who also attended UC of San Diego, began his teaching career, earning his first teaching job at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. The couple moved from California and Burnett began her career too in North Carolina, at the middle and high school levels. The couple lived in North Carolina for five years.

“I really got to experience many different school communities, certainly very different from where I had grown up,” Burnett said, “and I immediately fell in love with the profession.”

From California to North Carolina and now New York, Burnett has done quite a bit of traveling. She wound up in Glen Cove after Craig, looking to further his career as a professor, applied for a job at Hofstra University. When they first arrived in New Yok, Burnett was homebound, taking care of the couple’s six-month-old son. During that time, she was able to quickly adjust to life in Glen Cove.

“I was a stranger to the community,” she said. “I’d never been to New York, but I just fell in love. It was inclusive. Even going to the library, people were so friendly and welcoming.”

In 2017, Burnett got a job at Finley Middle School in Glen Cove as a special education teacher, where she worked for four years. At the beginning of the school year Burnett took on the role of secondary instructional technology coach. In this role, she was able to mentor and work with teachers, while still in the classroom. In December, the school’s ELA coordinator for the district was transitioning to be a principal at Connolly Elementary School. Burnett went on to be an ELA coordinator for the district.

Her love for being in a school environment led Burnett to apply for the job of principal at Landing Elementary. “What I found was that I missed being with kids, and being in one building, and really having those relationships with the students and the staff and the parents,” she said.

“I think she’ll do fabulous,” said Superintendent Dr. Maria Rianna about Burnett’s new role. “We watched her work, we know what her work ethic is, what her personality is. I think she’ll do a great job as she transitions.”

During her career, Burnett has learned many lessons that she believes will help her in her new role as principal. “Relationship building is so incredibly important, whether it’s a student’s, staff, parents or community,” she said. “That needs to be the crux of everything that we’re doing in school. It’s always been something that’s been very important to me, and then I’ll continue to work on it in this new role.”

For Burnett collaboration is a key to success and this includes students in the process as well. “Anytime that we’re making decisions, the more people that can get involved, the better the outcomes are for our students,” she said. “Our decisions should be student-centered, in everything that we’re doing. Things get crazy sometimes but as long as we’re focusing on students, you can’t go wrong”

With the best interests of students at the forefront, Burnett is happy that she is entering a vibrant atmosphere at Landing. “I’m excited to continue this tradition that is already here,” she said. “I want to continue to celebrate those traditions that the school community has grown to love, but continue to find ways to support our kids academically and socially, and emotionally.

Burnett aims to continue a return to normalcy after the Covid pandemic, with the goal of returning to more field trips and supporting hands-on learning in ways that haven’t been done before.

“We want to give our students really diverse opportunities,” she said.