Alden Terrace Students, Former Superintendent Meet

Press release from SyntaxNY:

March 11 2020Throughout February, sixth graders at Alden Terrace School met one-on-one with retired Manhasset Union Free School District Superintendent Charles Cardillo, who is going to be the guest speaker at this year’s graduation. Mr. Cardillo has also served as a mentor throughout the years to Elmont’s Superintendent of Schools Al Harper.

Mr. Cardillo, who is also the executive director of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents, met individually with each student to make the graduation speech more personal and something that they can directly relate to. “Graduation day is geared toward the students; it’s their day,” he said, adding that he enjoys incorporating some of what the students’ say to him during his end-of-the-year speech as it makes them feel special and listened to.

During the informal interviews, Mr. Cardillo asked the sixth graders questions like “What would you say about your teachers?” “How do the signs and artwork around the school make you feel?” “Do you have any older siblings in high school?” “When did you start attending Alden Terrace?” “What will you miss about Alden Terrace?” “What clubs and extracurricular activities are you involved in?” and “What would you say to younger students that are new to Alden Terrace?”

Of Mr. Cardillo’s visit and interview process, Principal Shawnée Warfield said, “We are honored to have someone who is so well-regarded in the educational community to be gracious enough to speak at our graduation.”

This press release was produced by the SyntaxNY. The views expressed here are the author’s own.