Thursday, October 1, 2026
Hundreds of tenth graders made their way to Central High School for the first time as students this week, but they weren’t the only new faces in the building. John Gibilaro was hired over the summer as one of the school’s assistant principals, and he, too, is getting to know a new school community.
Gibilaro, who had previously worked as an administrator in New York City, said he didn’t expect to get a position on Long Island, but was happy when he did. “I think I was in shock for two weeks,” he said. Gibilaro went through a host of interviews with various administrators, teachers and board members in Valley Stream, all within a few days of one another.
A Farmingdale High School graduate in 1993, Gibilaro has been familiar with the Valley Stream area since childhood. One of the major reasons he’s such a fan of the community is its diversity. “This neighborhood couldn’t be better,” he said. “Being a history teacher, I’m interested in other cultures, and I travel a lot.”
Gibilaro began his teaching career in the late 1990s in Texas as part of the Juvenile Justice System where he taught ESL and social studies. In 2001, he became an elementary school teacher in New York City. For the last four years he has worked as a dean and a department chair, respectively, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Ozone Park, Queens.
He said his primary responsibilities as assistant principal at Central will be attendance, discipline and safety. “I enjoy the challenge of working with kids that are having a difficult time in school,” he said.
One of his goals for his first year is to reduce the number of suspensions at Central, although, he said, the number isn’t very high to begin with. “That can be done by not just approaching this as pushing paper, doing detentions and suspensions,” he said, “but looking at each individual kid and asking, ‘What do I need to do get this kid on track?’” Gibilaro said he thinks he can make an impact in that respect during his first year.
Coming from New York City, Gibilaro said there weren’t many school events he got to attend. This year, he plans on attending as many sporting events and extracurricular activities as possible.
“Just from being around this summer, the arts are a major focus,” he said. “Everyone appreciates it and everyone thinks it’s a big part of education, and I agree with that.”
Gibilaro said he feels aligned with Principal Dr. Joseph Pompilio and other Central administrators as far as their philosophies on education.
“One of the things I really like is Dr. Pompilio’s focus on simplicity and understanding the importance of literacy in everything,” he said. “My focus is student culture and how they approach school. It’s all about the kids succeeding and that’s definitely the vibe I’m getting from everyone.”
Also, Anthony Mignella, former Central assistant principal and current Memorial Junior High School principal, has been very helpful in answering all of Gibilaro’s questions, he said.
Gibilaro recently moved to North Massapequa, a part of the Farmingdale School District, with his wife, Martina, his stepson, Owen, 6, and his son, Dale, who is 5 months old.
Now, he’s just anxious to work with students, teachers and administrators while getting to know the school community. “I’m very excited to be here,” he said.
