New Principal Named At Farmingdale's Howitt Middle School

FARMINGDALE, NY — Farmingdale School District on Tuesday announced Michael Gavalas will be the new principal of Weldon E. Howitt Middle School. Gavalas is expected to be officially appointed at the May 6 Farmingdale Board of Education meeting. The current principal, Luis Pena, is scheduled to retire at the end of June.

Gavalas is a veteran educator with over 20 years of experience, most recently as the assistant principal of Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, according to the Farmingdale School District. He served as assistant principal at Hauppauge High School from 2012 to 2017. Before becoming an administrator, he taught social studies for 12 years at Hauppauge High School and two years at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood.

Gavalas earned his master of science in education and his bachelor of arts in secondary social studies education from Queens College. He also holds an advanced certificate in School Building Leader from Queens College. He is married with two boys, Gianni and Pano, and lives in Astoria, Queens.

"The hiring process for such a critical position during a pandemic was challenging," said Assistant Superintendent Glen Zakian in a news release.

The process began early February, as a group of candidates were brought in for screening interviews with the Superintendent's Cabinet, Zakian said. But with the school closure brought on by the new coronavirus, the interview process had to be continued online. There were four additional rounds of interviews to be completed with numerous members of the faculty and staff participating in a committee format.

The selection committee narrowed the candidate list to a few finalists who then met with Superintendent Paul Defendini and eventually the Board of Education.

"There were a lot of steps to this process but it was well worth it," Zakian said.

Gavalas said he feels well suited for the middle school environment, a challenging time for most students and a place he remembers as being "scary" in his youth.

"There’s a certain safety that exists in elementary school, but when you leave and enter the middle school you leave that safety," he said. "Your competencies get questioned and the big message is that you need to use this time to get ready for high school. Consequently, the middle school experience gets lost. I see this time as an opportunity to build resiliency and make students focus on the here and now. I want them to find joy in this growth period of their education."

Defendini said he was as interested in learning about Gavalas as he was watching constituents respond to him during the interview process.

"He had a way of deeply connecting with the groups even though it was done on a virtual platform," Defendini said. "He will make a great addition, and I am very excited to welcome him to the Daler family."

Gavalas is slated to begin his tenure July 1 but said he hopes to get some face time with faculty and staff before that, either virtually, or in meetings that practice social distancing if the school is allowed to do so.

"I want to meet everyone, learn what’s on everyone’s minds, and hear about their dreams for the school," he said.

While Board of Education President Michael Goldberg said he was impressed with all candidates, he felt something special about Gavalas.

"The board agreed that he’ll do a great job as our next middle school principal," Goldberg said.

While he was being considered for the position, Gavalas said he and his family took a ride around Farmingdale, exploring the community.

"We went into the village and drove around, and I got that sense of community I had heard about," he said.

But words spoken during an early conversation with Defendini and all the assistant superintendents had already sold him on joining the district, Gavalas said.

"They told me that their fundamental mission was to do what is the absolute best for the students, the teachers, and the community. Right then, I knew this was where I wanted to be."