By Scott Brinton
As it turns out, he will remain in the post through the end of September, and so he once again was called on to address teachers at the start of a new school year. On Oct. 1, Dr. Henry Kiernan, who is currently superintendent of the West Morris Regional School District in New Jersey, will assume Bellmore-Merrick's reins.
Caramore said in an interview that his waning days in the Central District are "bitter-sweet." He's ready for retirement. He plans to take at least a few months off. But, Caramore noted, he would miss the school district that he has served in a variety of posts for more than 28 years, including four as superintendent.
Caramore spoke before the Central District's roughly 400 teachers during a start-of-the-school-year meeting on Tuesday morning . Andrea Messinger, the new Central District Board of Education president, thanked Caramore for his service to the district. "We all wish him well," she said.
Messinger was cheerful. "I have good news for next year. Next year school doesn't begin in August," she joked, eliciting hearty applause from the teachers.
2005 was unusual in that the Labor Day weekend, after which school traditionally begins, fell well into September. So many, though not all, school districts chose to start the new year before Sept. 1. The Central District began school on Wednesday, Aug. 31, for its more than 6,000 students.
Caramore introduced Kiernan to the teachers. The incoming superintendent, who is reportedly moving to Long Island from New Jersey, said he's gotten out and about Bellmore-Merrick, chatting with folks, including real-estate agents and a barber. Overwhelmingly, he said, people "spoke very highly of the schools."
The new superintendent said a school district's success depends, in large part, on its teachers. "You need great teachers in the classroom who give time to their students each day," he said.
Kiernan also said, "We need to learn in new ways." Age-old stereotypes must be discarded. For example, he said, we mustn't presume that because students excel in the arts and humanities, they can't also thrive in a science or math classroom, and vice versa.
He also noted, "If you really want to learn something, you have to do it yourself. [When] we learn it ourselves, we make meaning of it."
Afterward, Caramore returned to the lectern to offer a few final words for the teachers. "I have confidence in you as we go through this transition that you will connect to kids on a more than academic level, but on a personal level." The teachers, he said, must show students "that you care."
Central District administrators left the auditorium soon after, and Mike Dobler, the new president of the teachers union (Bellmore-Merrick United Secondary Teachers), addressed the educators. He succeeds retired Kennedy High School health teacher Rick Hamilton as BMUST president.
Dobler noted that school districts are under increasing pressure by the federal and state governments to perform well on standardized tests, which is forcing them to increase spending. In turn, property taxes are rising, making passing school budgets in public votes more difficult.
Dobler noted that the Central District budget passed this past May by a slim, 43-vote margin. In previous years, it was approved by more than 1,000 votes.
The union president said BMUST plans to lobby hard to pass the Central District budget in 2006. "Clearly, we have a lot to do to make sure the budget passes again," he told the teachers.
Comments about this story? Sbrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
