Ossining BOE Appoints New Principal For Brookside School

OSSINING, NY — The Ossining Board of Education has appointed a new principal for Brookside School.

Lucia Orduz comes from Claremont Community School in New York City where she has served as principal since 2013. She also served as an instructional coach and classroom teacher at PS 103 in the Bronx for many years, district officials said.

Orduz holds a bachelor's degree from New York University and graduate degree from Mercy College. She was awarded the 2018 New York City Model Principal from the NYCDOE Learning Partners Program and received the 2018 Hometown Heroes in Education award from the New York Daily News.

"Please join me in giving Ms. Orduz an O-Pride welcome!" said Superintendent Raymond Sanchez in an email to the community. "We look forward to having her work closely with our Brookside students, staff, and families and to continue to meet our high standards set for Brookside School."

It's been a busy six years for administrators in Ossining. In 2017, Principal Stephen Hancock moved to Ossining High School from the Roosevelt School, and Michelle Grier was hired to run Roosevelt. In 2019, Kate Mathews was made principal of Anne M. Dorner Middle School and Ferzeen Shamsi moved into Mathews' spot as principal at Claremont. In 2021, Nicole Mangiere Nover was hired as principal of the Roosevelt School, replacing Grier, who became Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction; and Emilia Macias-Capellan was hired as principal of Park School.

Ossining's schools are organized by grade level, a policy put in place in the 1970s to fully integrate the district. Park is for pre-K and kindergarten, Brookside houses grades 1 and 2, and Claremont grades 3 and 4. Roosevelt is the 5th grade school. Anne M. Dorner Middle School houses grades 6-8 and Ossining High School holds 9-12th grades.