By ZOYA KHAN and ARCHANA HARIHARAN
After many academic achievements and experiences in education, Mr. Brian Cummings is ready to take on yet another role, this time as Jericho High School Assistant Principal.
Mr. Cummings has been in education for 30 years, spending 26 of them in the Jericho School District. He worked for 15 years as a high school physics and math teacher and 10 years as the Curriculum Associate of Science and Technology Education.
As an adolescent, Mr. Cummings had always enjoyed education. He said, “My strengths were math and science, and if you combine those two ideas, teaching was always a possibility.”
Besides being successful academically, he excelled in his extracurriculars. Mr. Cummings was a drummer in his high school’s marching band, which went as far as participating in the Mets World Series ticker tape parade. He said, “It was one of the coolest things I have ever done.”
Initially, Mr. Cummings wanted to pursue a career in engineering, studying at the Polytechnic Institute in New York for his undergraduate degree. After his junior year, Mr. Cummings then found himself transferring to SUNY Cortland and graduating with his bachelor’s degree in teaching. Mr. Cummings attended SUNY Stony Brook for his first master’s degree and then LIU Post for his second master’s in administration.
Now as assistant principal, Mr. Cummings is dedicated to making the school a fun and safe environment for everyone. He said, “I want people to have the same great experience I had in high school.”
Mr. Cummings is appreciated by the students of Jericho High School, who find him to be supportive and kind. Freshman Romir S. said, “He is a very nice guy, a responsible vice principal.”
Mr. Cummings has a therapy dinosaur in his office and encourages students to come and sit down with it whenever they need to.
Co-principal Mr. Cohen commends Mr. Cummings for working diligently within the district in many important roles. “To be able to lean on someone that really knows the culture so deeply is really beneficial,” he said.
Mr. Cumming’s favorite thing about his journey throughout Jericho High School has been the change. He said, “I feel like I’m still new at this, which is fun for me.”