Thursday, October 1, 2026
Sewanhaka Central High School District held its first district-wide meeting of the school year at their Leadership Forum, which was hosted at Elmont Public Library on Feb. 6. Members of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council, comprising of 60 students from all five school buildings in the district, attended the forum.
Members of the council met with Superintendent Regina Agrusa, as well as Nichole Allen, who is assistant superintendent for student support services, and Dr. Richard Faccio, who is the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. The news release said students provided feedback, offered advice, and shared their hopes for the district’s future.
The forum began with an icebreaker activity to help the students get to know their peers from the other buildings. Each student had stickers in their respective school color, the news release explained, and they were asked to meet new friends and swap stickers. By the end of the activity, students had a colorful array of stickers on their folders.
The district psychiatrist, Dr. Caryl Oris, and the Sewanhaka High School psychologist, Dr. Jason Teague, led a discussion on cell phone use in schools and how it can affect students’ mental health, productivity and communication. Then, the news release said, students participated in a group discussion regarding their views on possible cell phone policies and procedures.
Following the discussion, the news release continued, New Hyde Park Memorial High School student Darsh Mirchandani shared his plans for a District Political Action Committee.
The Leadership Forum concluded with “Courageous Conversations,” which was led by Sewanhaka High School’s social studies chairperson, Dr. Nicholas Simone, and English chairperson, Kathleen Crimmins.
“It was a great opportunity to get to know students from other buildings and talk about stuff that matters to us,” Floral Park Memorial High School senior Oscar Dalton said.
The news release concluded that Agrusa will continue to meet individually with each building’s group throughout the school year, with a final Advisory Council meeting with all five schools planned for June.
