Last week dignitaries, guests and alumni gathered to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the New Hyde Park Road School.

Ground was broken for the original building on January 4, 1926 and it was expanded on November 1, 2002. The original building was 43,862 square feet and now the Road School is 57,113 square feet.

When the school opened in 1927 there were 424 students registered and at this time there are 511 students registered.

The original building contained 20 classrooms, a boardroom, principal's office, teacher's rest room, a cafeteria and a complete suite of health rooms for the school nurse, medical inspection and dental clinic and an auditorium.

Now the school has 27 classrooms, 8 support rooms, a teacher's lounge, library/media center, principal's office, nurse's office, pupil personnel office, conference room, cafeteria and auditorium.

During the ceremony many dignitaries spoke, but none with the knowledge and warmth of former principal George Usdin. Others who spoke included principal Peggy Marenghi, superintendent Dr. Regina Cohn, New York State Senator Craig Johnson, Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello, an alumni of the Road School, New Hyde Park Village Trustees Lawrence Montreuil and Donald Barbieri, plus New Hyde Park Village Historian Florence Lisanti, who gave a comprehensive history of not only the Road School but of New Hyde Park.