New Staff Members in West Hempstead High School

By Khari Dash

During the 2018-2019 school year, new staff members joined the West Hempstead School District. Some of them include Mr. DeTommaso, Ms. Stamatiades, and Ms. Cassa.

James DeTomasso is the new principal at West Hempstead High School and the motto he started the year with is, “raise the bar and… compete.” 

Previously, he worked in the East Rockaway district. Before becoming principal here, Mr. DeTommaso was a Physical Education teacher, Assistant Principal and a Principal for summer school in East Rockaway.  He came here because he felt like it was a “good match” for him. He also respected how the teachers care for the students and the parents, as well as how diverse the school is. 

Mr. DeTommaso's top priorities as the new principal are to build a  positive culture within the school, provide opportunities for the students and build paths for students for their future. The future he sees for the school is to improve academic achievements and see the school district is on the rise.

Jennifer Stamatiades is a new teacher at the high school. She teaches 11th grade English, 12th grade English Honors and Mixed Media. She wanted to work at West Hempstead High School even when she had other options because she liked the diversity in the community and she felt she could help the students in the school. She previously worked at Rockaway Park High School and then in Lindenhurst for 3 years. As a priority, Ms. Stamatiades believe in having her students engaged and making sure that her students can come to her for anything.

Arianna Cassa is a new Social Studies in West Hempstead High School. She chose West Hempstead High School to teach at because she liked the opportunities here and the diversity in the school. She used to teach in the Bronx and she talks about the differences between our school and the Bronx. She believes here in West Hempstead, there is more flexibility in teaching compared to the Bronx. She believes students can help each other and they can lean on each other (which she likes). Her priorities as a teacher are to challenge her students and make her students think. The future she strives for in the school is to build a strong supporting cast with the staff and build a community.

The new staff members in the high school are bringing new energy that the school needed. Mr. DeTommaso, Mr. Stamatiades, and Ms. Cassa are new teachers that want to bring up the school and make it better for the future. They all want the same thing for the students which is to help them succeed and achieve success in what they want to do later in life.  With their hard work and dedication, the school will have a bright future.

Other new staff hired this year include Director of Special Education, Bridget Karis, TA, Joanne
Capolino, two new Guidance Counselors, Jacqueline Lennon, and Angela Sigmon, and Special
Education teacher, Joseph Barracato.

Let's welcome all of the new staff to our district.