By Joseph Kellard
New assistant superintendent fills year-long gap
After enduring a year without an assistant superintendent, the Island Park School District has finally found an educator to fill that position. Dr. Rosemarie Bovino was officially voted in by the Board of Education during its regular meeting May 21. Her probationary term will begin July 1 and extends to June 30, 2004.
"We are fortunate to have Dr. Bovino, who is described by colleagues as the finest educator they have known, joining our administrative team," Dr. Edward Price, superintendent of Island Park schools, said at the meeting.
Among the first class of women admitted to Williams College in Massachusetts, Bovino completed her undergraduate studies in comparative literature and continued her education, earning master's degrees in special education, instructional technology and educational administration. She received her doctorate from Teachers College Columbia University, where her research focused on decision-making in bilingual and bicultural curriculum.
Bovino's educational career began in Uniondale public schools, where she worked as a teacher in special education resources and computers, and in Lynbrook public schools as a computer teacher and coordinator. She then went to teach at the Bi-Lingual and Bi-Cultural National School in Hong Kong. While there, she learned to speak Mandarin. Afterward, she completed her doctorate work and in 1991 joined the Friends Academy in Locust Valley as a fifth-grade teacher. While there, she became the principal of the lower school, and for the past seven years has been the director of studies.
Asked what she believes are the most important attributes she brings to Island Park schools and what she hopes to accomplish, she said, "I think it is my enthusiasm for learning and my belief in every child and his or her ability to realize their potential.
"I'm very excited about the technology program here and I believe I can contribute in many ways and show teachers how to integrate technology into their curriculum. Curriculum development is my area and I'm very committed to helping people work through issues of learning diversity. I'm also very excited about the new library. I'm looking forward to using the library as a means to get to know the community. When it opens, I'd like to conduct some workshops there."
The process of finding Bovino for the assistant superintendent position is one that Price described as rigorous. He indicated that there were 33 applicants for the position.
"We had many excellent candidates for this job, who went through a very intensive process. I have a rating scale by which I judge candidates, using such criteria as knowledge of curriculum, business operation of the schools, an understanding of a relationship with the board of education. After this, I ask a committee consisting of a parent, principal, two teachers and a clerical person to give their perspective on what candidates they think would work well in our school system, and they give me their recommendations."
Of the 33 candidates, Price met with 13 and sent eight of those to the committee. In the end, it came down to three candidates. He explained that while the final three candidates were all superb, he chose Bovino because, he said, "her educational background was very impressive. She has very broad experience as an educator. She's been a teacher in public schools; she's also been a principal and a director of studies, which is basically the equivalent of an assistant superintendent in a private school. Also, having been a teacher in a different country and system, a school in Hong Kong, I think she will bring a fresh perspective and outlook to the critical issues we will deal with in the coming years. And I chose her for her enthusiasm for finding successful solutions."
And while Price is quite pleased to have Bovino as his assistant, he is equally pleased, he said, just to have filled a position he juggled with part-time assistant Arnie Goldberg over the past school year.
