District 13 names new Willow Road School principal; Capozzoli lauded

Stephanie Capozzoli led a procession of sixth-graders at the Willow Road School in June during the school’s end-of-year clap-out.

Courtesy District 13

The District 13 Board of Education announced on June 29 that Rosalie Ambrosio would succeed Stephanie Capozzoli as Willow Road Elementary School’s principal.

“It’s my distinct pleasure to accept this position with excitement and great responsibility,” Ambrosio said. “I’m delighted to bring my leadership skills to the Willow Road School. I maintain an open-door policy to all, including staff, parents and the community.”

In addition to acting as an assistant principal in Queens for the past seven years, Ambrosio previously served as a math specialist and teacher at the elementary and secondary levels.

“She has an accomplished history of program and curriculum development, increasing parent and community engagement, leading professional learning opportunities and a host of other achievements,” said Superintendent Constance Evelyn in a letter to parents.

District officials spent four months searching for a replacement after Capozzoli announced her retirement in January. She was the school’s principal for 14 years.

“She was an outstanding, well-respected and well-cared-for principal,” said Dorothy Cornetta, a secretary at the school. “She created a family atmosphere at Willow Road,” she added. “Her warm personality drew everybody in.”

District 13 Trustee Frank Chiachiere, who was a board member at the time of Capozzoli’s hiring, said she would be missed. “She’s the heart and soul of Willow,” he said. “The parents know that, the kids know that and the faculty know that.”

Chiachiere reads to special education classes at the school at least once per month during the school year, and said Capozzoli was always an excellent role model for its teachers.

“She showed us early on in her tenure that she valued powerful teaching,” he said. “She knew what it was, she knew what it wasn’t, and she knew how to model instruction so the teachers could learn from her.”

Both Chiachiere and Board President Toni Pomerantz highlighted Capozzoli’s involvement with Lights on for Education, an annual music, arts and academics exhibit that unites all four school districts in April. Pomerantz said that orchestrating that kind of event is a massive undertaking, and Chiachiere agreed. Capozzoli was the chair of District 13’s portion of the exhibit, in which every student displays a project from a particular discipline.

“I know of precious few schools that put in [such an] effort when we put all four school districts together,” he said. “That is an enormous task.”