By:Leslie Gonzalez
Lynbrook's Board of Education has appointed Theresa Mc Donnell Ganley as the new principal of West End Elementary School. Ganley will replace Nola Bacci, who will retire June 30 after 20 years of service. Ganley's term as principal will begin July 1.
Ganley was hired after being interviewed four times by staff and administrators. William Metkiff, Lynbrook's superintendent of schools, publicly introduced her at the district's May 9 school board meeting, and described her credentials as "very impressive."
"We look forward to having Terry with us," Metkiff said.
"I really believe I belong on the south shore. I really know the pulse of the people," Ganley said.
The eldest of six children, she was raised in Rockville Centre, where her father, William H. Mc Donnell, served as the principal of Wilson Elementary School for more than 25 years. "I admired him for his strength as an educator."
Ganley attended Maria Regina, a private high school in Uniondale, now known as Kellenberg Memorial High School. Following in her father's footsteps, she went on to earn Baccalaureate of Arts in English and Elementary Education from Molloy College, where her father formerly worked as a math department instructor. She later earned a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Adelphi University, and a Professional Diploma in Educational Administration from Long Island University at C.W. Post.
Ganley began her career as a sixth-grade teacher at St. Raymond's School in East Rockaway for the Diocese of Rockville Centre. There, she helped design and implement a curriculum for gifted and talented students. She later worked 14 years as an elementary and inclusion team teacher for the Malverne School District's Davison Avenue School, where she previously worked as a student teacher during her college years. She also served as a member of Malverne's Site-Based Management Team, a shared decision-making group of school officials, parents and community members.
In 1998, Ganley went on to work as the assistant principal of East Hills Elementary School for the Roslyn Union Free School District, where she recently earned her tenure. She also serves as a graduate education department professor at Molloy College in Rockville Centre, where she has presented "inclusion" workshops to young educators, and was named an honor society keynote speaker last spring.
Ganley spoke highly of the new state standards for inclusion, which require that special education students be taught alongside mainstream students.
"We always had inclusion. We always had children who had special needs. The difference is, the sophistication of the identification process," she said. "I don't think it's just about the children being 'included.' I think it benefits the whole class, because of the tremendous services that are being brought into the classroom."
Last year, Ganley was invited to serve as principal of Roslyn's summer school program. There, she says, she realized her leadership potential.
"After running the building for three to four weeks, I said, 'I can do this.' I knew it was time," Ganley said. She looks forward to working with West End's talented staff and bright young students. "It's bittersweet," she says of leaving the Roslyn School District. "The second-graders put a poster on my door the other day saying, 'Please don't leave.' They have been very, very kind to me. They showed tremendous faith in my ability. They took what I had and cultivated it."
West End children were at a loss for words when Bacci recently introduced Ganley as their new principal. "A little first-grader finally said, 'I don't want a new principal,'" Ganley recalled. Fifth-graders accustomed to the building gave her a list of issues and advice.
Ganley will spend an additional four or five days training with the retiring principal. "My district has been gracious enough to give me one day per week to come down to Lynbrook and watch the school while it's in session," she said. She further complimented Bacci for running the school so beautifully. "Anyone you talk to tells me how tremendously revered she is."
"She's lovely, and she has a fine reputation. She'll do quite well," Bacci said of her successor.
Ganley has numerous certifications, including school district administration, and school administration and supervision. She is also a member of the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development and the National English Honor Society, and was elected to "Who's Who Among America's Teachers." She lives in Oceanside with her husband, Robert, a sergeant for the New York City Police Department. They have been married 18 years. They have a 13-year old daughter, Jennifer, who is a student at Oceanside Middle School.
In the meantime, West End's retiring principal had mixed feeling about her departure. "It's sad. There are so many wonderful people here. The kids have been wonderful, and I can't imagine life without them," Bacci said.
