The Jericho Middle School will begin the 2006-2007 school year with a warm and enthusiastic welcome to Donald Gately, the new principal. Gately comes to Jericho after serving as principal for five years at the Howard B. Mattlin Middle School in the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District. He began his educational career as an English Language Arts teacher in the New York City schools where he worked for 12 years. Gately then acted as the assistant principal at Memorial Junior High School in Valley Stream for five years before assuming his Plainview position.

Gately is a past president and active member of the Nassau County Middle Level Principals' Association. He is on the Advisory Board for the Nassau County Art Supervisors' Association. Gately is a tireless advocate for middle level education and students. He has offered workshops and served on the planning committees for numerous middle level conferences. As principal, Gately is most proud of some of the programs he helped establish at Mattlin: the Personal Best Movement, One-to-One Mentoring, Boys Night Out, Girls Night Out, Homework Club, Thanksgiving Jazz Jam, Literacy Leaders, Summer Readers Breakfast and the Principal's Awards Program. These initiatives enriched both the academic program and students' school experiences.

"We are excited to have Don join our administrative team," states Superintendent of Schools Hank Grishman. "He brings to Jericho a wealth of experience that is certain to enhance our middle school program."

The Jericho school community welcomes Eric Sundberg as the new K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Associate and Daniel Salzman as the new K-12 English Languages Arts Curriculum Associate. Both administrators come to the school district with significant experience and background. "The district is pleased to welcome Eric and Daniel," said Superintendent of Schools Hank Grishman. "Both administrators are capable of providing strong leadership in their area of curricular expertise. We look forward to working with them to continually review and improve our current educational program."

Eric Sundberg successfully coordinated the K-12 social studies programs in Wantagh and then Manhasset from 2001 to the present. Prior to that time, he taught a variety of courses, including Advanced Placement American History, Advanced Placement U.S. Government, Global Studies, Economics and U.S. History and Government, for 12 years at North Shore High School. He developed and taught humanities courses and social science research, introduced Socratic seminar as a formal school-wide teaching method, designed a program evaluation for a senior level humanities program, developed assessments for seminar and other learning activities, and successfully coached speech and debate. Sundberg began his teaching career at Hunter College High School where he taught a variety of social studies courses. Sundberg is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in Educational Policy and Leadership at Hofstra University.

Daniel Salzman has displayed a passionate commitment to education during six years of varied teaching experience. He comes to Jericho from Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in the Port Jefferson School District where he taught Regents, Honors and Advanced Placement courses. Salzman began his teaching career in the New York City School System. His teaching experiences have allowed him to work with students from diverse backgrounds with different learning styles. He has developed and tested alternate methods for teaching reading and writing, created interdisciplinary units and explored the benefits of various forms of assessment. As a doctoral candidate at New York University, Salzman has developed a teaching philosophy that recognizes the need to encourage students to take charge of their learning, search for ways to make learning relevant to students' lives, and make connections between school and community.