For the over 20 years serving the Mineola School District, I have enjoyed working with very supportive parents, students, staff and many other members of this special community. With this support and that of the Board of Education and central administration, we have been able to accomplish many things on behalf of the children and parents of the Mineola community.

I am extremely proud of the achievements we have attained over the years. With your unwavering participation and dedication the school district has made extraordinary progress in the areas I have been responsible for over the years. These include: Technology, Strategic Planning, Curriculum, Libraries, Public Relations, Testing and Assessment and Program Evaluation.

In many of the above areas the achievements we have realized represented firsts for our district. I am confident that, in the case of technology, planning and public relations, we have created and established new initiatives that will continue to grow, deeply and positively influence the future of our school district, and benefit our children and families.

The most exciting and rewarding aspect of my work in Mineola has been that most of these initiatives were accomplished with the direct and meaningful participation of parents, students, staff and community members. This community has never let me down. You have taught me many valuable lessons over the years. There have been accomplishments and failures in our attempts to grow, but the school community members I have worked with never lost faith or their energy and dedication. You have always inspired me to continue to work on your behalf. I trust that you will continue to lend your skills and energy to support our schools in the future. I urge you to continue to work to achieve our district's mission, strive to attain new heights for our schools as centers of learning and also ensure that Mineola remains the special place we all enjoy.

The most important message I want to convey to the Mineola community is this: your greatest strengths, your greatest assets, your most significant resources are you - the members of this great and diverse community.

In the context of the above, it is with mixed emotions -- a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, as well as sadness in leave-taking -- that I will be leaving the district at the end of this school year.

I thank the district, and all of you who have given your time and energy over the years, for the opportunity to serve the Mineola community.

Ari-Zev Anolic, Ph.D.