This special education expert is William L. Buck's newest principal.

On a recent clear-skied August afternoon with the sun beating down, families with their charges in tow gathered at the William L. Buck School playground area. A phalanx of administrators fully dressed in well-cut suits, including Superintendent Unal Karakas, were there to greet them with beaming smiles.

But the face of the event was Michael DeBlasio. This tall man, with a firm jawline, dark hazel eyes, and tufts of silver hair will greet all William L. Buck students this fall as their newest principal. But for now, his job was to hand out ice pops to a queue of families with their kids. He did so with a gentlemanly grace, adding a friendly handshake and a warm smile.

Some kids enraptured by their refreshing late-summer treat stood contently with their families in the shade while others were scaling, climbing, and swinging in the playground from which they could laugh and roam to their heart’s content. Parents supervised their play from the background. Others merrily coalesced around DeBlasio to chat briefly before saying their goodbyes.

Soon enough, the informal meet-and-greet event was a proper social hang-out.

In Valley Stream, noted DeBlasio, the strength of community spirit is something to marvel at.

“You just get this warm community feel in Valley Stream. Communities like this are few and far between,” he said.

DeBlasio began his educational career working as a special education teacher for a decade in Queens Community School District 26 before pivoting toward the role of administrator. He spent six years as an assistant principal at the Forest Road School in Valley Stream District 30 before his prior role as principal at Park Avenue Elementary School in the North Bellmore School District.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in education from Molloy College, and school building and district leadership certificates from the College of St. Rose.

As a 17-year-old cash-strapped college student, DeBlasio joined his brothers in working at an afterschool program for children with autism at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in East Hills. What began as a hustle for cash evolved into a passion. His daily interactions with the students soon made clear this was his true calling.

DeBlasio: I'm home

After time away from the Valley Stream community, DeBlasio said that when he heard that there was a job opening for a principal, he knew “it was finally time to come back home.”

DeBlasio wants to build on the already existing base of “solid and wonderful” programs. He specifically hopes to draw from his years of expertise in the special education field to raise the level of special education intervention services and support systems.

As a multi-tiered system of support coordinator, DeBlasio has helped ensure a school district’s support system works well for students with academic and behavioral challenges. According to the most recent state data, of the roughly 300 students at William L. Buck, about 13 percent have a learning disability and 10 percent are English Language learners.

21st-century education needs strong support systems

“Every school district benefits from a strong MTSS program, which is your intervention services,” said DeBlasio.

“By leaning on your specialists that are seldom used at full capacity, whether it’s your reading specialist, math specialist, guidance counselors, school psychologists, and use them to support children in the classroom, that’s where the movement happens.”

DeBlasio argues that by ensuring the right systems of support are in place and “firing at all cylinders,” students who are struggling in the classroom can get the intervention they need. This then ultimately translates to higher rates of literacy and math comprehension and boosts problem-solving and critical thinking metrics.

Rather than pushing a predetermined agenda from day one, DeBlasio advocates for a more responsive and flexible approach guided by student and stakeholder feedback. This importance of adaptability is borne out of a recognition that the society students are growing up in is different from previous generations in fundamental ways.

One of the biggest flashpoints is social media.

A healthy balance of social media, technology

“Social media is fantastic, but it requires a lot of education to navigate appropriately, especially among our young ones,” he said. “This brings a lot of challenges to students who struggle socially but it can also be an outlet for them, so you need to find a nice balance and ensure the support system is up to date to handle these 21st century challenges.”

DeBlasio is also a proponent of propping up Valley Stream’s neighborhood feel by getting kids involved and engaged in social events and cultivating in-person discussion and debate.

“We are looking to integrate technology in a way that boosts our interpersonal interactions and not be solely reliant on them,” said DeBlasio. “Rather than tear our children from the screens, we want to strike a healthy balance between using it as a tool to support and enhance our learning while not forgetting personal connection outside of technology. We have a real laser-focused vision on this.”

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