Huntington's Newest Principal Off To Quick Start

HUNTINGTON, NY — The new principal of J. Taylor Finley Middle School in Huntington is off to a quick start.

Traci Roethel has only been in her position since July 1, but the long time educator is already going about making real changes for the 2019-20 school year, the Huntington Union Free School District said.

Since landing in her new role, Roethel has been working on the creation of Finley's schedule for the upcoming school year. She's also assessing the sizing of each classroom, tweaking various building practices and looking into possibly re-configuring the school library. Roethel also plans to begin talks on how to use the building's foyer, according to the district.

"We are working hard to make this a great year for our 700 seventh and eighth graders," Roethel said. "We believe that our academic and co-curricular programs will be very well received by students and their parents."

Roethel is the fifth principal since the school opened in 1965 and she had been previously working as the principal of Huntington's Woodhull Intermediate School, before taking her new position, according to Huntington Public School's official page.

Roethel earned a Master of Science degree in education with a specialization in math at Queens College in 2003 and an advanced graduate certificate in educational leadership at Stony Brook University in 2009. She's replacing John Amato, as the middle school's longtime leader retired at the end of the past academic year.