The New Hyde Park/Garden City Park School Board, at its last school board meeting, voted, unanimously, to appoint Robert William Cadillac as its next superintendent.

Cadillac is currently the Assistant Superintendent of the North Rockland Central School in Rockland County. Prior to that he was the director of Elementary Education for North Rockland; served 10 years as a K-6 Elementary School principal in Middletown in Orange County. For seven years he was the principal at St. Vincent Ferrer School, a private K-8 school. He was also a teacher at a lower East Side 6-8 Elementary School where he taught social studies and language arts.

Cadillac was an undergraduate at Hunter College and then received his master's degree in education from Hunter College. He received his School District Administration Certification from Fordham University.

Cadillac lives in Florida, Orange County, New York and is married to his wife Johanna. They have one son, Robert Christopher, who just graduated from Mt. St. Mary's College and he intends to return to college in August to obtain his masters in business administration.

The Illustrated asked Mr. Cadillac what his priority would be as he joined the district and he said, "For the first year it has always been my motto to 'look, listen and to learn.'"

This board meeting was the last one that will be presided over by superintendent Dr. Regina Cohn and in honoring her board president Patricia Rudd said, "We really do appreciate all that you have done. You have been an inspiration, not only to me, but to the rest of the board, the teachers, the children, see I'm getting emotional already, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart."

She then presented her with a plaque that states, "We appreciate your dedication and service to the children and the community of New Hyde Park/Garden City Park School district presented at your retirement June, 2008."

Rudd added, "I know she is not going to just retire, but will be busy volunteering and doing lots of wonderful things."

Further down in the agenda it was noted that indeed Cohn would be busy, because she will be retained as a consultant to the New Hyde Park/Garden City Park School District.

The next person to speak was a parent who said that she, too, was appreciative of Cohn and her advice regarding the direction her daughter should take.

Trustee Joan Romagnoli said, "I would just like to congratulate Dr. Cohn and to offer best wishes and we truly do appreciate everything you have done and you have promoted the well-being and motivational inspiration in this district, We have come a long way and what you have done in three years is tremendous and we truly appreciate it. Thank you."

Trustee Annette Giarratani said, "I would like to echo some of the comments that have been said. In addition to sitting in the audience for many, many years I have seen superintendents come and go and I have had the good fortune of working with Dr. Cohn for the past year. I must tell you that we have really come a long way and have progressed and I just want to applaud the contributions that you have made to the New Hyde Park/Garden City Park school district. I wish you good luck, good fortune and may God Bless you in all your teaching endeavors."

Inter-School PTA President, Shirley Shing then came forward and presented a plaque to Dr. Cohn from the PTAs.

Shing said, "I am simply here to present well-deserved recognition to Dr. Cohn. She has improved the schools and the district through much-needed funds through grants, the relationship with state legislatures, state officials, local merchants by bringing in the state-of-the art computers, Smart Boards and security cameras in all of our buildings. However, not only does she seek ways to save costs to our taxpayers in the district, she also seeks ways to highlight the accomplishment of the children in the district by putting their artwork in the calendar, by continuing the Science Fair and the Odyssey Fair, so important, by recognizing our children at each board meeting. So, Dr. Cohn please accept this New York State PTA Golden Oak Plaque on behalf of the elementary school of the New Hyde Park/Garden City Park Council of PTAs for your outstanding dedication and service to the children and the schools in our district."

The board then recognized board trustee Robert Nugent who is going off the board after three years of service. He, too, was presented with a plaque.

The board then took a short break for coffee and cookies as a tribute to Dr. Cohn and to trustee Nugent and to welcome Mr. Cadillac.

When the board resumed Dr. Cohn issued the following as her last superintendent's report:

"Tonight I am taking the opportunity to thank some of the people who have worked with me to make the New Hyde Park/Garden City Park Schools a superb district for the children of this community.

"Many thanks go to the board of education president Patricia Rudd, who has worked tirelessly for this school district. In addition, the work of all of the board trustees with whom I have worked has had a positive impact on the education of the children in our schools. My special thanks also go to Louis Zacarese, who was the first board president with whom I had the opportunity to work.

"The PTA presidents are a unique group of volunteers who have given much of their time to work with me. During our monthly meetings, these women have undertaken major projects for the benefit of our students. My special thanks go to Interschool PTA President Shirley Shing, who accepted many challenges and succeeded.

"The teachers of this school district have seen some major initiatives. I will just name a few. Our teachers have willingly taken the risk to learn about SMARTBoards and are now lining up to have the next one installed. We have seen the piloting and introduction of new materials for teaching English language arts; the introduction of a structured approach to teach phonics; the expansion of services for our students for whom English is a new language, a new Math Enrichment program; the refinement of the admissions process for the Enrichment program; the piloting and adoption of new Health instructional materials; the introduction of student involvement in the county competitions, in science and a full-day kindergarten program including music, art and physical education classes.

"The administrators of our school district have learned about new approaches to their supervisory responsibilities including the three-minute walk through; embraced the New York State Learning Standards for teacher lesson development and have read and discussed a variety of books from Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat to Schooling by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, to name a few.

"Our clerical staff has embraced new approaches to adhering to state and federal requirements. Our custodial staff utilizes a green approach for the safety of our students, employees and for the environment.

"Our district was one of the very few on Long Island to succeed in utilizing the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program during this school year. We are poised to expand upon the pre-K program for next.

"The principals are the people best known to the children, parents and the community. They are there, each day, to ensure that the best possible education is taking place for the children, in a safe environment. My appreciation goes to principals Karen Olynk, Peggy Marenghi, James Svendsen and Diane Weiss.

"Our district administrators are a vital backbone of this school district. Pupil Personnel Services Director Louis Hirschfield has advanced the services for children and their families who need special education services; Director of Facilities and Transportation James Saitta embarked upon new projects for safety and beautification of our schools; Director of Technology Judith LaRocca who, in the one year that she has been in our school district, has revolutionized our use of technology for instruction and communication. Our director of curriculum and instruction, Dian Zirilli-Mares willingly accepted the many ideas that I presented, researched, reviewed, outlined how we could make innovations possible and much has been realized. Assistant Superintendent for Business Michael Frank has his eye on the finances of the school district, with a keen understanding of how to make required revisions for the benefit of our community.

"As I retire at the end of this month, I want all who have worked with me to continually improve the educational program for the children of the New Hyde Park/Garden City Park School District. Thank you for the opportunity."

The board, in the course of the evening, voted to return the meeting time to 8 p.m. instead of the 7:30 p.m. it has been. Therefore, the next meeting will be held on July 7 at 8 p.m. and it will be a Reorganizational Meeting to be held at the Manor Oaks School, 1950 Hillside Avenue. The New Hyde Park PTA donated a tree to the school and there was a big discussion as to who would maintain the tree after it was planted. It was ascertained that the district would indeed make sure the tree was taken care of. At the outset of the meeting Cartridge World awarded many of the students with recognition for being winners of both an essay contest and an art contest. Further, Cartridge World donated an amount for the recycling program at the school. The board then accepted a donation from the Hillside Grade School PTA for a sign to be placed on the front lawn of the school. The cost of the sign is $3, 100 and includes the installation of the sign. Trustee Annette Giarratani wanted to know what was to become of the old sign and it was suggested, as a joke, that it be placed on her lawn, since she lives across the street from the school. A retainer agreement between the district and attorney Nicolello was accepted and he is appointed as the District's General Council for the period July 1, 2008 through to June 30, 2009. The self-sustaining summer program was approved. The cost is $4.50 for a full time student and $2.50 for a part-time student.

The board entered into an agreement with BOCES of Nassau in July of 2005 for the lease of certain computer equipment. The lease will expire at the end of the month and the board exercised its option to purchase the leased equipment.

The board then adjourned the meeting into executive session.
(Please note: Photos of contest winners at New Hyde Park/Garden City Park school board meeting will be in next week's issue of The Illustrated News.)