Schools

The Central District's unsung hero

After two decades, Saul Lerner is retiring

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When ticking off the many and varied phys. ed. programs that Saul Lerner has brought to the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, you quickly realize what a profound and lasting impact he has had on the lives of thousands of students, his colleagues say.

Among the programs are girls’ lacrosse, boys’ badminton, bicycling in gym classes, and first aid/cardiopulmonary resuscitation for all students, a program begun with the Merrick-based Robbie Levine Foundation, to name just a few.

Lerner is the Central District’s director of physical education, health, athletics, driver’s education and adult education. After 19 years in the district and 35 years in education, Lerner, 58, will retire on June 30. “It’s been a great run,” he said during an interview last week, “and I loved every minute of it, and I love the community.”

Among the work that he is most proud of, he said, has been the partnership that he helped forge with the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center, headed by Executive Director Wendy Tepfer, of Bellmore.

Lerner and Tepfer have championed any number of programs to educate students about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse and driving while intoxicated, from hands-on DWI workshops in each of the three high schools — Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham — to parent seminars on how to administer Narcan, which counteracts a heroin overdose.

“We’ve done a tremendous amount of work to keep our kids safe, both drug-free and driving safe, and I hope we made a dent,” said Lerner.

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