Saturday, April 26, 2025
The Malverne Board of Education provided the community with an opportunity to meet Maria Rianna, the school district’s newly appointed superintendent, before the March 11 board meeting.
Residents gathered in the Malverne High School Performing Arts Center to interact with Rianna and ask about her career, as well as her plans for Malverne schools.
Rianna, the acting superintendent of Glen Cove schools, will retire in June after serving 12 years in that district. Effective July 1, she will replace Lorna Lewis, who has announced her retirement after spending five years as Malverne superintendent.
In January, the Malverne board unanimously voted to approve Rianna’s three-year contract with the district.
“I’m humbled by the fact that Malverne has asked me to be the superintendent,” Rianna said. “I’ve been in education a long time, but I’m still learning every day.”
During its search for a new superintendent, the school board asked the community what it wanted to see in a superintendent, and the board’s consultant took that into account when seeking candidates.
“Our consultant and Dr. Lewis did an amazing job to find us a large pool of qualified and impressive candidates,” Jeanne D’Esposito, the board’s president, said. “It reflects well on the Malverne School District that so many talented and successful administrators wanted to come and work here.”
D’Esposito explained that following a round of screening interviews, Lewis and the consultant provided the board with a list of top candidates. The board then interviewed them before selecting three finalists for a more extensive interview. Following these discussions and lengthy deliberations, board members selected a candidate they believe meets the needs of the district.
“We were impressed with Dr. Rianna’s commitment to the Glen Cove School District, where she spent 12 years as their superintendent,” D’Esposito said. “We saw her as someone who knows how to get everyone on the same page and working toward the collective goals.”
D’Esposito also acknowledged that Rianna is the third retiring superintendent the district has hired, noting the past successes and the experiences these new hires bring to the position. She mentioned that by hiring retirees, the district saves money because it does not have to pay for their health benefits or contribute to their retirement.
Rianna, who shared her educational experience with the community at the March 11 meeting, started out as a special education teacher before working her way through various administrative positions. Rianna served as deputy superintendent of the Port Jefferson district and assistant superintendent in the Smithtown school district, before taking on the role of superintendent in Glen Cove.
“I will work on the budget, I will work on the finances, I will work with my administrators,” Rianna said. “We’ll work together to make sure that our children are appropriately supported, and we have the funds to do it.”
Parents asked Rianna about expanding opportunities that the schools could offer to students, ranging from athletics to academics.
“We look at different opportunities, and we realize that within those opportunities, some students may find an opportunity that wasn’t there before,” Rianna replied. “I would love to see all my students succeed. And what that means to me, is that they’re heading towards something that they love, that they’re interested in, that is inspiring to them.”
Under Rianna’s leadership as Glen Cove superintendent, graduation rates increased, as did the number of students taking AP exams.
“My responsibility is to help students find their passion,” she said, “to help them realize what they might be good at and never, ever say, ‘I’m just no good.’ Because whatever that child wants in life, we can help them, whether or not that is academics. I very much look for, and within the academics opportunities, for those students to grow their passion.”
Several attendees asked Rianna about how open she is to establishing a relationship with parents and engaging them in their children’s education.
“I hope to have meetings with different PTAs, different parent groups,” Rianna said. “I would hope that we can exchange ideas as community members.”
Rianna shared that in Glen Cove she implemented several practices to engage parents in their child’s education, including “parent universities,” which are opportunities for parents to come into the classrooms to better understand what their children are learning.
Malverne Mayor Tim Sullivan, who attended the Mar. 11 meet-and-greet, expressed his appreciation to the district and for the special education support it provides to the community.
“It’s been my commitment, and our board (of trustees) is also very supportive of this district, this board, these educators, these parents, and making sure you have all the support you need,” Sullivan said. “We identify ourselves as one community, and so long as I’m mayor, if you need anything, I will come to your office, I will answer your call, and make sure that we work on whatever this district needs for, as Dr. Lewis and I would say, ‘the betterment of our children.’”
Camille Emeagwali, Central Council PTA president, encouraged Rianna to become involved with the parents and community of Malverne, to familiarize herself with the district’s strategic plan for 2030, and to have a long-term vision for the schools.
“We’re excited to welcome her to the district,” Emeagwali said. “She demonstrated that she’s interested in learning more about who we are and how she can get acclimated. I’m excited that she came out tonight and shared that vision with us, and we look forward to seeing more.”
