Friday, October 2, 2026
For decades, North Shore School District graduates stayed connected through their own class reunions, Facebook groups, and informal gatherings at community events. Now, district leaders and alumni are working to centralize those connections into a formal alumni network designed to strengthen community ties, support students and celebrate the district’s history.
The North Shore Alumni Network is still in its early stages but already counts more than 500 registered members. It will host its first official event, an alumni breakfast and high school tour, on the morning of Homecoming, Oct. 18, this fall. The initiative is a joint effort between the district administration, Board of Education members and alumni volunteers, who see the project as a way to connect generations of graduates.
Superintendent Chris Zublionis said the idea had been under discussion for years as the district noticed how individual graduating classes organized online.
“We noticed that individual graduating classes from North Shore High School had a really strong Facebook presence and pages, and they had great events,” he said. “And we realized… that there was no central alumni organization.”
Board of Education President Andrea Macari, a 1996 graduate of the district, echoed the need for a formal structure. She said that while alumni were always welcome back for Homecoming and included in a group photo, the district had no way to consistently engage with its graduates.
“I have this involvement with the school district because my daughter goes to school here and I'm on the school board,” Macari said,” but I could not remember any district outreach that had occurred since I graduated.”
The new network is designed to change that. Organizers are preparing programming that includes lectures, mentorship opportunities, and career connections. Alumni will be invited to give community talks in their areas of expertise, offering what Macari described as “North Shore’s own version of Master Classes.”
The district is also looking ahead to ways alumni can support current students. Zublionis said mentorship, even in informal ways, could be transformative.
“Maybe not in a super formal sense, but if there’s somebody who works in finance, and we have students in our business program, they could maybe be somebody one of our students who wants to major in business could talk to,” Zublionis said. “We have a rich network of people in all fields, medicine, psychology, law, business, finance, the arts.”
For alumni like Saul Schachter, who graduated in 1974 and went on to teach at North Shore for more than three decades, the initiative represents a natural extension of what he has already been doing informally. Schachter has long been a point of contact for former classmates and students seeking to reconnect.
“Every year there's always a few reunions, and I get emails from people asking, ‘do you know where so and so is?’ And often I do so I put people in touch,” he said. “It's been great because former students come back, classmates come back. It's local people.”
That enthusiasm made Schachter a natural fit when the district asked him to serve as alumni coordinator. He is managing outreach and sign-ups while others manage the network’s online platforms.
Organizers envision the network serving graduates across all generations. Recent alumni could help current high schoolers by offering insights into college life, while older graduates might return for nostalgic building tours or to share wisdom from established careers.
Macari said the effort is also about school pride.
“I think people's relationships with their schools are lifelong, and we weren't participating as a district in events that engage people's nostalgia for school,” she said. “We're hoping that these connections will build school spirit, create alumni-student connections and networking events, and also give us an opportunity to showcase our very prominent and eminent graduates.”
The district started highlighting well-known alumni such as actress Kate McKinnon and Broadway performer Michael McKeever, but leaders stress that the network is equally about celebrating graduates who excel in fields like medicine, law, business, and education. Plans for future events include author talks, alumni lectures and mentorship opportunities tied to the district’s curriculum.
Schachter believes the network can also provide a sense of connection for graduates who have moved far from Long Island.
“A lot of these people want something like this,” he explained. “I'm on Facebook with everybody and often people live out in Colorado or in Texas or and they say, ‘Boy, I miss North Shore, I miss Long Island, and this is a way for them to come, come together.”
For Zublionis, the network also aligns with the district’s broader educational goals. He said the initiative reflects the New York State Education Department’s “portrait of a graduate” framework, which emphasizes applying knowledge in real-world settings.
The alumni breakfast and high school tour in October will be the network’s first official gathering, but organizers see it as just the beginning. Macari said she hopes the alumni themselves will eventually take the lead.
“I would actually like to see a formal alumni structure formed where we have alumni who serve as like Chair of the network, and then allow them to run the programs and spearhead events,” she said.
For now, the district is providing support as the network builds momentum. Zublionis said he is optimistic about its potential. “I just think it's one of those things that's good for the community,” he said.
