The new year will bring a change for Carle Place’s administrative team. Christine Finn, Carle Place School District’s Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Personnel, will be leaving her post Dec. 31, for the same position in the Herricks School District.
“I wouldn’t leave unless there was a good reason. Eventually I would like to become superintendent, so working in a larger school district would put me on that path,” said Finn.
Finn noted that the two districts have a strong relationship and both share similarities including PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) testing and NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association), a type of student assessment. And while Herricks is a bigger district, it shares the same philosophy as Carle Place.
“What I love about Carle Place is that the kids come out so well rounded, and have so many opportunities—music, art, different classes. It’s the same thing at Herricks. They have the same mentality and philosophy and focus on achievement and helping kids be ready for life, not just college. That was really appealing,” says Finn.
Finn has served as the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Personnel in Carle Place for five years. She says one of the things she’s proudest of is the Commissioner’s School Dissemination Grant she (along with Superintendent Dave Flatley and Richard Greenberg) won for the district. The grant affords the district $300,000 and in exchange, Carle Place has shared some of their best teaching methods with three other school districts—two upstate and one in Long Island—for three years.
“We’ve loved it. It’s a wonderful way to share our learning and practices with school districts and we’ve formed great relationships with them. We’re really proud of it,” says Finn.
Finn will start her new position in January, and while she is excited for the new opportunity, she says leaving is bittersweet.
“As excited as I am, I’m just as sad to be leaving,” said Finn. “This is a wonderful place to work, I’m going to miss a lot about it. I’ll miss all the people—the administrative team, Mr. Flatley, the administrative cabinet and working with the BOE. And the students and teachers. We have a lot of dedicated teachers here and the kids are all very well rounded people and I’m glad I played even a tiny part in helping them get all the things they need to get.”
And that bittersweet feeling is mutual.
“Christine has been an integral part of the success that our students and faculty have enjoyed. She was instrumental in bringing significant grant dollars to our school district and worked with our professional faculty members in designing our highly effective Annual Professional Performance Review plan,” said Flatley. “Most importantly, Christine always brought a level of care for the students of our school district to every decision she made and she will be sorely missed.”
“Christine is a fine educator who has been an excellent part of our administrative team. She made enormous contributions to our school district,” said Board of Trustees president Barry Dennis. “Christine’s greatest strengths have been her calm and objective approach to the many educational issues she has had to deal with. She was of tremendous help to the Carle Place School District, and we wish her well.”
