By Ethan Brown and Jonah Elkowitz
Jericho High School’s new co-principal Dr. Joseph Prisinzano started his career in Buffalo, New York, the city where he was born and raised. There he taught everything from computer science to remedial mathematics. At similarly sized high schools to Jericho, Dr. Prisinzano was promoted to assistant principal and principal. He described his time at Buffalo as “wonderful.”
Dr. Prisinzano first arrived at Jericho in 2005 as the High School Principal. After 8 years, he transitioned into the district’s administrative offices. For the next 7 years, Dr. Prisinzano was the Assistant to the Superintendent for Administration, Research, Innovation and Common Core. Now, 15 years after his first day in Jericho, Dr. Prisinzano has returned into the spotlight as one of Jericho’s co-principals.
Dr. Prisinzano missed working with young people while he was in central administration. “I’m excited to be back working with students again,” he said.
Dr. Prisinzano praises Jericho students for their consistent work ethic and commitment to success. Although each district he has worked in has been unique in its own respect, Dr. Prisinzano believes Jericho students are quite special. “Our students really do interesting things to try to make the world a better place,” he said.
When New York State implemented the Common Core, it was a challenge for teachers, students, and administrators alike. The school district wanted to focus on the problem-solving aspects of the Common Core. “We could have done things in more of a traditional way, but instead, we brought robots to the elementary schools,” Dr. Prisinzano said. He hopes that in addition to teaching the mechanics of robotics and engineering, the program also teaches students to problem-solve.
According to Dr. Prisinzano, this particular school year presents unique challenges for both learning and connecting. His goals as co-principal have adapted to the new conditions. Dr. Prisinzano acknowledges that “the connection piece is tough” but he is committed to improving the social and emotional learning element of school.
Dr. Prisinzano’s advice to students eager to succeed in a competitive environment is to stick to their unique strengths. He said, “Do not try to compete with everyone else to be as good as they are at everything. Find the thing that you’re really good at and the thing that you’re really passionate about, and I hope they align. Because if they align, you’re going to be a wild success.”
Great article written about Dr Prisinzano’s dedication to
the education of the Jericho kids, specially in this crazy times we are living now!