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Mostly Cloudy Home sweet home for new Parkway principal
Jamie Mack returns to school where she worked for five years
Jitters are not uncommon for a new principal addressing a room full of parents on Meet the Teacher Night.
But there were no butterflies for Jamie Mack, who just completed her first month as principal of Parkway Elementary School. That’s because she returns to a school where she spent five years as assistant principal.
“I feel like I’ve come home in a sense, which is a really nice thing,” Mack said. “Knowing the parents, knowing the children, knowing the staff and knowing the building makes it a lot easier for me to get start on what my vision is and working with teachers on professional development.
“I can hit the ground running because of the familiarity with everybody,” she added.
Mack served as Parkway’s assistant principal under Lou Panzica until 2008 when she was transferred to Meadowbrook Elementary School. She worked there as assistant principal under Susan Hyde until June.
In her return to Parkway, Mack said she wants to ensure that the staff and faculty works as one cohesive unit.
“One of my visions as the building principal is to make it so that everybody on staff from custodial staff to lady at the front door to teachers and myself all have the same goal, and that’s to educate the whole child,” she said. “I want to make everyone feel as part of that team.”
Mack replaces Panzica, who was Parkway’s principal for nine years. She leads a new team, as Leonard Minerva assumes the position of Parkway, replacing Kerry Dunne, the new principal at McVey. Minerva has years of experience as a teacher at Bowling Green Elementary School.
Mack’s education resume began in Brooklyn, where she taught for 16 years at an East New York elementary school. Five of those years were spent as assistant principal. Mack, who grew up in West Hempstead and continues to live there with her family, said she was excited to work closer to home in East Meadow when she first became Parkway’s assistant principal about seven years ago.
Parkway’s slogan, “Pride and Achievement” is a term that adorns banners throughout the school hallways. But don’t just call it a slogan.
