By Hector Flores
"She has been working in the district for 11 years and has done a terrific job in the classroom and in the buildings she has been assigned to," Mucci said. "The board should be applauded for their fine selection."
Testa started working for the district in 1994 as a phys-ed
teacher at Saw Mill Road Elementary. She stayed at Saw Mill until 1999, when she was hired to work at Martin Avenue School when it reopened in 2001. She stayed at Martin as a phys-ed teacher until June of this year, and in July, she was named school principal of Gunther.
Mucci said that Testa was selected by the North Bellmore Board of Education to succeed outgoing Gunther Principal Laurance Anderson. When Anderson's position became available, Testa underwent an intensive interview process.
"She was one of 29 applicants," Mucci said. "Eleven were
interviewed by me, and from that pool of candidates, eight moved forward into interview teams."
Mucci said there were four interview teams. The first team
comprised parents, teachers, principals and clerical staff. The second consisted of remaining principals and central office administrators. The third included fifth- and sixth-graders, who were followed by Mucci and Board of Education members.
³All the candidates went through the process, and [Testa] was the best candidate,² Mucci said.
Mark Weiner, the Martin Avenue principal, was not surprised when Testa was named school principal at Gunther. He credits her success to her professional background and the work she did at his school.
"I worked with her for four years," he said. "Marie is a very
gifted educator. Her professional career is unusually well rounded. She came out from the corporate world, working in data analysis and public relations. What she brings to North Bellmore is a sophisticated vision and leadership."
When Testa worked at Martin Avenue, she was influential and took a leadership role in shaping the school's philosophy in social education.
"She shaped our whole new view of how Martin Avenue should treat its kids." Weiner said. "She helped develop the school's 'Levels of Behavior,' 'Peaceful Playground', 'Conflict Mediation,' and she helped me look at test scores to identify areas of strength and where to improve. With Testa, we were able to instill a peaceful philosophy of how recess should look like for kids.²
Weiner said that recess became a ³comfortable productive
recreation time² when kids used social skills in their games, and Levels of Behavior was a way for kids to take responsibility for their own behavior.
Before working for the school district, Testa worked as a
research analyst at NBC Channel 4 for two years. And for five years, she had worked for a Fortune 500 company, Ademco, which manufactured alarm devices. With her experience, Testa was on her way to becoming a successful business manager, but she began to have second thoughts about her career path.
³My husband and I looked at my career, and I was very happy,²
she said. ³But honestly, when I looked at the overall scope of my career, there was something missing. My husband thought that I would do better by taking my talents in communications and applying them to children as a teacher. My husband was my inspiration for my career change.²
When Testa made her career move, she had a bachelor¹s in
communications. She returned to school and obtained a master¹s in physical education, and then a second master¹s in school administration.
As a school teacher, Testa experienced firsthand the fulfillment that educators feel when they work with children. ³The reward comes by watching children become people with character,² Testa said. ³You also help them reach their fullest learning potential.²
When Testa decided to become a school principal, she wanted to move forward in her career as an educator. In addition, she wanted to combine her communications experience and people skills.
Testa added that the best part of being a principal is being in a
position to encourage teachers' talents, as well as grow professionally with them. ³It¹s a privilege to learn from a diverse group of teachers and to be directly involved with the children,² she said.
Mucci said it's unusual for an educator to move into administration with less than 15 years of education experience, but Testa has proved to be a rare gem. ³Administration is something she wanted to do,² Mucci said. ³As an educator, she saw the positive effects she had on her students, and she wanted to broaden the number of children she could have an impact on, and being a principal is one way of doing that."
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
