The Wantagh School District Board of Education has affirmed its confidence in 14 administrators and teachers, as they were awarded tenure at the May 8 meeting. 

Superintendent John McNamara, speaking at a ceremony before the meeting to honor the newly tenured staff, noted that many of them began their careers in Wantagh during the height of COVID, and their early interviews were done virtually. 

“If they can survive the 2020-21 school year,” he said, “they can survive anything.”

Administrators receiving tenure were Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services Stephen Moran and Wantagh High School Principal Dr. Paul Guzzone. In addition, 12 teachers from across the district successfully completed their probationary periods:

Christen Bellucci, science teacher, Wantagh Middle School

Victoria Briguglio, social studies teacher, Wantagh Middle School

Jared Burksy, physical education teacher, Mandalay Elementary School

Laura Capozzi, art teacher, Forest Lake and Mandalay elementary schools

Denise Homolka, reading teacher, Mandalay Elementary School

Danielle Luke, technology specialist

Alex Martinek, first grade teacher, Mandalay Elementary School

Christina Mealey, second grade teacher, Wantagh Elementary School

Bridget Montario, fifth grade teacher, Mandalay Elementary School

Christopher Pedota, special education teacher, Forest Lake Elementary School

Janine Rotondo, family and consumer sciences teacher, Wantagh Middle School

Cara Wolf, world language teacher, Wantagh High School

“We pride ourselves on having a rigorous hiring process in Wantagh and we have extremely high expectations,” Mr. McNamara added. “We don’t want just good teachers here, we want outstanding teachers.