By Laura Lane
Well-respected and popular, Harrington, 33, has forged a working relationship for the past five years with the faculty, students and staff at Calhoun.
Calhoun staffers say they will miss him. "We're all sad that he's leaving," said Paula Mastrogiovanni, who works in Calhoun's attendance office. "He's so thoughtful."
Terri Zarro added, "He held many hats and held them all well."
Harrington has been the administrator for the ninth and 10th grades and worked with the phys. ed. department, helping to oversee it. He believes it's important to be visible, preferring to visit classrooms and speak with students in the hallways. He also spends a great deal of time after school attending plays and sports games.
Harrington plans to continue to be accessible as Mepham's principal. "I see my job as an administrator as an opportunity to help people, whether it be students, parents, teachers or other administrators," he said. "My role is to support them and address their needs."
Harrington, who said he spends much of his free time with his wife and 3-year-old son, T.J., is modest when speaking of his accomplishments. But he has achieved much, even before becoming an educator.
At his alma mater, Seaford High School, he was the quarterback of the football team, the point guard on the basketball team and the shortstop on the baseball team. Harrington remains the Seaford basketball team's all-time leading scorer.
He received a full four-year baseball scholarship to Providence College, and then had an opportunity to play pro baseball for an independent team in Tennessee. "It was pretty much like the Long Island Ducks, but I knew I wasn't going to get much further, so I accepted a teaching job at Island Trees," he explained. "My athletic experiences taught me how important it is to be a team player, which has helped me relate to kids, faculty and other administrators. I think I have an ability to relate to kids."
Most Calhoun students know little about Harrington's successes because he spends his time speaking to them about their accomplishments. "Mr. Harrington is great," said senior Michael Dunn. "He always talks about the students and knows how they play. And he always stays for the whole game."
A former social studies teacher at Island Trees High School, Harrington was born into a family of educators. His mother is a second-grade teacher at Abby Lane Elementary School in Levittown, and his father is the athletic director at SUNY-Farmingdale. An uncle was the assistant principal at MacArthur High School in Levittown until he retired.
"It's in the blood," said Harrington. "My sister is a kindergarten teacher and my wife, Michele, is a speech teacher in the Sayville School District. A lot of people influenced me."
Harrington was hired as Calhoun's assistant principal shortly after David Seinfeld became the principal. He considers Seinfeld a mentor and friend, and said he believes Seinfeld prepared him to take on the principal's job.
"What's great is that he's staying in the district," said Seinfeld. "From the minute I met him, I knew he'd be a principal. It's an honor to me that he thinks of me as his mentor. Mepham is very fortunate to have him."
Seinfeld described his colleague as proactive. "He knows what teachers need to achieve their tasks, the expectations of parents, and understands teenagers," Seinfeld said. "He can balance all of these things on the head of a pin. Being a building principal takes patience, an ability to balance things, and it takes strength. He has all of this."
Harrington said he looks forward to becoming Mepham's next principal and is committed to ensuring that the school continues to move in the right direction. "People need to start recognizing how much good takes place at Mepham," said Harrington. "There are teachers and administrators there who care very much. I think it's important to work together in the best interests of the kids. There is good character at Mepham, and I want to maintain this and promote it, build school spirit and pride."
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
