Plainedge Union Free School District

School district in the U.S. state of New York

Plainedge Union Free School District

Location
Plainedge, New York , New York, 11758 United States
District information
Motto	"Where Everyone Achieves"
Grades	K–12
Superintendent	Dr. Edward A. Salina, Jr.
Deputy superintendent(s)	Peter Porrazzo, Dr. Lisa DePaola, Catherine Honeyman
Schools	5
NCES District ID	3623190^[1]
Students and staff
Enrollment	2,880^[1]
Faculty	235.13^[1]
Colors	Red, white, and black
Other information
Website	www.plainedgeschools.org

The Plainedge Union Free School District is a school district which serves the hamlets of Plainedge and North Massapequa. It includes Eastplain, John H. West, and Schwarting Elementary Schools; and Plainedge Middle and High Schools.

Administration

The current Superintendent is Edward A. Salina Jr.^[2] The school board is currently composed of President Lynnda Nadien and Vice President Raymond Paris; and trustees Jennifer Maggio, Joseph Beyrouty, Joseph Netto, Sonny Spagnuolo, and Sisi Townson.^[3]

The principals of the elementary schools are Mark Coccarelli (Eastplain),^[4] Joseph A. Maisano (John H. West),^[5] and Jennifer Thearle (Schwarting),^[6] with Sara Azizollahoff serving as assistant principal at all elementary schools.^[7] The principal of the middle school is Anthony DeRiso, the assistant principals are Jennifer Puelo and Vito Mannino, and the dean is Casey Kornahrens.^[8]^[9] The principal of the high school is Lauren Iocco and the assistant principals are Jennifer Vitale and Kevin Burgoyne.^[10]^[11]

History and organization

The first Plainedge school was housed in a two-room, wood-frame schoolhouse that became known as the "Annex." It served the district until about 1952 when the John H. West elementary school was built. It was then updated and used as the school district's administration office.^{[citation needed]}

On February 19, 1985, the Plainedge School Union's Board of Education was sued by Carl McCall for a refusal to promote her allegedly based on her gender.^[12]^[13]

The school district is composed of 3 elementary schools, John H. West elementary, Eastplain elementary and Charles E. Schwarting elementary. The middle school is Plainedge Middle School and the high school is Plainedge High School. Former schools include Robert E. Picken elementary, which was sold to the Town of Oyster Bay to serve as a smaller town hall for the southern part of the town; Northedge Elementary (then a kindergarten), which was knocked down to make room for the new middle school; Baldwin Drive Elementary and Southedge Junior High, which were demolished and the land sold for housing; and Sylvia Packard Middle School, which was closed after 40 years.^[14]

Since Plainedge is not an official town, its students come from parts of Massapequa, North Massapequa, Bethpage, Seaford and Farmingdale.

As a result of school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the district arranged a community effort to turn on stadium and porch lights between 8:20 and 8:40PM on May 1, 2020 to honor the graduating senior class.^[15]

Notable alumni

Manjul Bhargava,^[16] mathematician and recipient of the Fields Medal (2014)
Edward Byrne,^[17] New York City Police officer killed on duty in 1988
Brian Moore,^[18] New York City Police officer killed on duty in 2015
Steve Guttenberg,^[19] actor
Jim Hodder,^[20] drummer with Steely Dan
John Melendez,^[21]^[22] television writer and radio personality

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for PLAINEDGE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences.
^ "Administration – Plainedge Public Schools". www.plainedgeschools.org. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
^ "Meet Your Board of Education". Plainedge Public Schools. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
^ "Mark Coccerelli". Plainedge Public Schools. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
^ "Joseph A. Maisano". Plainedge Public Schools. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
^ "Jennifer Thearle". Plainedge Public Schools. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
^ "Sara Azizollahoff". Plainedge Public Schools. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
^ "Plainedge Middle School". Plainedge Public Schools. 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
^ "Plainedge Middle School Curriculum Guide and Handbook 2023-2024" (PDF). www.plainedgeschools.org. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
^ "Plainedge High School". Plainedge Public Schools. 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
^ "Plainedge High School - Staff Directory 2023-24" (PDF). www.plainedgeschools.org. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
^ York (State), New. New York Court of Appeals. Records and Briefs.: 80 NY2D 490, AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF part 10, THORESON V PENTHOUSE INTERNATIONAL LTD. p. 43.
^ Matter of Bd. of Educ. of the Plainedge Union Free Sch. Dist. v. Mccall, vol. 108, February 19, 1985, p. 855, retrieved 2020-05-02
^ "Community center project under way". Newsday. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
^ "Stadium lights at Long Island high schools shine tonight to honor graduating class". longisland.news12.com. 2020-05-01. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
^ Bhargava, M. Curriculum Vitae Manjul Bhargava. Retrieved from http://www.claymath.org/library/research_award/Bhargava/CV.pdf
^ Krajcek, David J. (February 27, 1988). "Rookie police officer Edward Byrne is gunned down while guarding a witness in 1988". New York Daily News. republished online January 20, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
^ "Ceremony held for Detective Brian Moore in Plainedge Park on Long Island". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
^ Fischler, Marcelle S. (January 19, 2003). "Long Island Journal; A Cheese Slice and a Dose of South Shore". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2012. As a teenager, Mr. Guttenberg hung out and played arcade games at the pizzeria. In June 1976, two days after he graduated from Plainedge High School, 63rd out of 570 students, he headed for Hollywood.
^ Hodder, Jim (October 1995). "Mojo Interview". Mojo – via steelydan.com.
^ Controversial personalities who stutter. Archived 2008-04-18 at the Wayback Machine Minnesota State University, 1998-10-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
^ John Melendez. National Stuttering Association. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.