Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District vet movin’ on up

Caryn Blum describes Merrick Avenue Middle School with a fondness she might reserve for her own home.

The MAMS principal arrived at the school in 1999 after having served as a special-education teacher, department supervisor, assistant principal and principal in Brooklyn and Queens for 17 years. And over the past 13 years, she has worked to establish MAMS as a top-rated middle school not only on the South Shore, but also in national rankings. In 2008, MAMS earned the U.S. Department of Education’s highest distinction –– a Blue Ribbon.

Now Blum is leaving, but she isn’t going far.

Dr. Henry Kiernan, the district superintendent, and the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District Board of Education announced recently that Blum has been appointed the district’s new assistant superintendent for instruction, effective July 1. She will succeed Richard Rozakis, who is leaving to become superintendent of the Babylon School District.

“Caryn is uniquely qualified to meet our needs in Bellmore-Merrick,” said Kiernan. “We’re delighted that, with all her experience and expertise, she will bring a strong alignment with our planning endeavors.”

Dr. Meador Pratt, who is currently an assistant principal at Kennedy High School in Bellmore, will succeed Blum at Merrick Avenue.

Blum, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brooklyn College. She later moved to Wantagh, where she lived for many years, and this past year she settled in Holbrook, in Suffolk County. But, she said, Merrick became her adopted hometown.

“I found a home here,” Blum said. “I feel a part of the Merrick community. I immediately felt at home. The community has always been so welcoming.”

She noted that the youngest of her three children, Michelle, 14, attended Alphabetland Pre-School at the Brookside School in North Merrick from age 1 until she reached kindergarten, and Blum’s family has long attended community events such as the Merricks’ annual Memorial Day parade.

Preserving ‘the way’