Massapequa Park Resident Named Principal of Nassau BOCES Barry Tech

Massapequa Park resident Peter Dalton was recently named the new principal of the Nassau BOCES Barry Tech in Westbury.

Dalton joins the BOCES team after a six-year tenure as Assistant Principal of Sewanhaka High School where he served as the head of the district’s career and technical education program.

“The model is similar to that of Nassau BOCES,” he said. “We had students from five different high schools — five different school cultures — just as Barry Tech serves students from districts throughout Long Island.”

Before that, he was the founding Principal of the Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy VI, a Title I school in the New York City school system, where he served for four years.

He also served as a search and rescue pilot for the Air Force where he was selected as a member of the Honor Cordon for his Officer Candidate Class for his “outstanding demonstration of integrity, resilience and leadership.”

In his first year as principal, Dalton says that he is “excited to learn” and plans on discovering each program firsthand, building relationships with teachers, and working with the administrative team on the areas that need the most focus.

In addition, he plans to establish a clear set of expectations across the board for students, faculty and staff.

“I want to make a significant contribution to what they are doing here,” he said. “Through education and life experiences, I can take a fresh look at what we’re doing, to help this school to go from great to even better."

He ultimately hopes to be able to improve instruction and build programs for Barry Tech.

Within the school, Dalton plans to focus on instruction.

“I’ve heard wonderful things about the teachers,” he said. “Every teacher has a set of skills. I want to help them to improve those skills and to become even better educators.”

Within the community, he hopes to collaborate with other principals across the county, to draw on their expertise, and to “give them the opportunity to truly understand what it is we do.”

In addition to his many leadership roles, Mr. Dalton has nearly ten years of experience as a classroom teacher.

He is a member of the School Administrators Association of New York State, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the Association of Career and Technical Education Administrators.

He received his degree in educational administration from Baruch College, as well as both a master’s and bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University.

Congratulations to Peter Dalton!