Floral Park-Bellerose Union Free School District is pleased to announce that John DeKams is the new principal at Floral Park-Bellerose School.
DeKams, a resident of Smithtown, officially joined the district on July 1. Previously, he served as an assistant principal at Hillside Elementary School in Hastings-on-Hudson since 2017. Through this role, he supervised all support staff, including teacher assistants, teacher aides and lunch monitors; provided instructional support to teachers in grades K-4 for various curriculums, including the school’s balanced literacy program, Eureka/Engage math modules and Fundations; and initiated and implemented the school’s first PBIS program, including assembling a team of staff members that met monthly to analyze behavioral data, developing schoolwide behavioral expectations and participating in various professional development opportunities to enhance the overall capacity of the group. His prior experience also includes roles as an assistant principal at Myers Corners Elementary School and as a sixth grade science teacher within the Autism Spectrum Disorders Nest Program at P.S./M.S. 206.
DeKams holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the State University of New York at New Paltz, a Master of Science in Special Education from Long Island University and a Certification in School Building Leadership and School District Leadership from the College of Saint Rose.
—Submitted by the Floral Park-Bellerose Union Free School District
