School News

A new home at Wantagh Elementary

Former Copiague teacher joins administrative team

Posted

For nearly two decades, Jessica Zimmer would arrive at school every morning, walk into her classroom and teach. That routine has changed, as she has entered the realm of administration, becoming the new elementary supervisor for the Wantagh School District.

Her position in two-fold. In addition to some district-wide responsibilities, Zimmer also serves as the assistant principal of Wantagh Elementary School, where her office is located. So far, her first month on the job has been a positive experience.

“It’s a wonderful community,” she said. “I was looking to take on a leadership role and Wantagh seemed like the greatest place to be.”

Zimmer grew up in East Islip, where she still lives today, and earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from C.W. Post. She holds a master’s degree in literacy from Dowling College, and her administrative certificate from Stony Brook University.

For 19 years, Zimmer was an elementary school teacher in the Copiague School District, where she taught mostly first and fourth grades. She also became a staff developer, supervising a team of literacy and math coaches who helped teachers implement curriculum initiatives.

She now brings her knowledge of both subjects to Wantagh. Among her responsibilities will be the coordination of testing at the three elementary schools.

“I’m a reader and a learner and a researcher,” she said. “I know the standards. I know the curriculum that’s out there.”

Common Core has changed the educational process, Zimmer noted. Schools are still teaching children how to read, write, add and subtract, she said, but students are now expected to know more at younger ages.

“We are really teaching them to be thinkers,” she said. “We want our students to be able to compete in a global economy.”

At Wantagh Elementary School, which has 650 students, Zimmer will support Principal Dr. Randee Bonagura and about 60 teachers and support staff. She described herself as a facilitator of the educational process. “Filling in whatever is needed is really the best way to describe my role,” she said.

Some of those tasks include greeting students as they arrive in the morning, supervising the cafeteria and watching over the playground. While Zimmer said lunch duty is a dreaded task for some, it is one of her favorite parts of the day.

“That’s where you get to know students,” she said. “There are really, really great kids here.”

Zimmer said her goal is to not only know every child in the school by name, but something about them, as well. She has made significant progress toward that goal in her first four weeks.

In that time, Zimmer said the close connection between the school and community has impressed her. The PTA is very active and supportive, she explained, full of parents who want the best for their children.

Zimmer knows parenting. She has three sons, Sam, 15, Alex, 12, and Thomas, 10. In her spare time, Zimmer likes to read and enjoys fiction books. She also likes to knit and crochet, and will be doing a Couch-to-5K running plan with her oldest son.

As a parent and an educator, Zimmer understands that there is much more to education than test scores. A child should not be thought of as simply a number, which measures their performance at one point in time, she said. “You should try your best because you should always try your best, but it doesn’t define you,” Zimmer said of the tests. “We have to look at the whole child.”

As an educational leader, that is the tone she wants to set. An act of kindness by a student can be just as important as a good test score, she noted.

Zimmer said she was encouraged to explore administration by an assistant superintendent in Copiague, who asked her to take part in a leadership program at Stony Brook. After initially dismissing the opportunity, Zimmer thought about it and decided that, if anything, it would make her a better teacher. Two of her professors turned out to be former Wantagh administrators.

Now that she is in a leadership position, she couldn’t be happier. Zimmer said she truly feels like part of a team. “I’m so blessed to be here, and to work with such a wonderful community,” she said. “It’s nice to be excited to get up and go to work every day.”