School News

Administrator aims to be a role model

Seaford High School welcomes new assistant principal

Posted

After 11 years in the classroom, Jessica Sventoraitis was looking for a new challenge. Her desire to advance her career in education has brought her to Seaford, where she is the new assistant principal of the high school.

Sventoraitis started her new job on Aug. 4, and has spent the past few weeks exploring the building, learning the computer system, meeting teachers and getting ready for the start of school.

“I loved teaching, but I really was ready to make a change,” she said. “Seaford is such a wonderful place, and I’m so happy to be here. Seaford has such a great reputation.”

As one of two assistant principals at the high school, Sventoraitis will oversee the ninth- and 11th-grade classes, as well as the English and social studies departments. She will attend those department meetings and conduct teacher evaluations.

She is particularly excited about working with the students, and hopes to serves as a role model. Sventoraitis wants to encourage them to get involved in at least one of the many extra-curricular activities the school has to offer. “It’s part of the high school experience,” she said. “It’s part of making somebody well rounded.”

For the past 11 years, Sventoraitis was a social studies teacher at Island Trees High School in Levittown. Coming to Seaford should be an easy transition, she said, because the school is a similar size.

“It’s a nice small school,” she said of Seaford High, which has an enrollment of about 800. “You get to know all of the students.”

At Island Trees, she was advisor of the Human Awareness Club, which raised money for various charities. She said if students or teachers at Seaford High School have an idea for a new club, she would love to hear it.

Sventoraitis holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from New York University and her master’s in education from Hofstra, where she also earned her administrative certificate. Getting her first job in administration required three rounds of interviews with a host of Seaford school officials.

“They asked good questions,” she said. “Everybody was really nice. From the first interview, I though it would be a really great place to work.”

Sventoraitis said that in order for learning to take place, everyone has to be invested in the process. Teachers need to make their classes engaging, she explained, while students must be active in furthering their own education. She said that Seaford is a place where that happens, and is excited to come to a place with a culture of high expectations.

Superintendent Brian Conboy said that he believes Sventoraitis was the right candidate for the job. “We’re excited to be working with Jessica,” he said. “We know that she’s a high quality educator with great experience from the Island Trees School District. We expect her to bring her expertise to Seaford for the benefit of our instructional program and our students.”

Outside of school, Sventoraitis loves to cook, read and spend time with her family. She has a 1 ½-year-old son.

Since her arrival, Sventoraitis said she has received a warm welcome from everyone in the district. She anxiously awaits the first day of school. “I want to do a good job,” she said. “I see myself here for a long time to come.”