When Thomas Sheehan toured Glen Head Elementary School for the first time in his new position as principal, there was one thing that stood out to him most: a swarm of students that were smiling, laughing and hugging their teacher. That teacher, Sheehan recalled, was Jane Launer, “the best of the best.”
“I had never met her before,” Sheehan said, “but from that instant, I knew she was born to be a teacher.”
North Shore School District recognized Launer and seven other teachers for their achievement of tenure. The eight teachers were granted this honor at North Shore School District’s Board of Education meeting on Friday, June 12.
Each recognized individual was recommended for tenure by the principal of the school or schools they work for. Launer, described as warm and magnetic, was the first teacher honored during this meeting. She was recommended by Sheehan, principal of Glen Head.
Launer was not only recommended for this achievement based on the smiles she brings to her students’ faces, but also for the energy she brings to Glen Head.
“Her presence is a steady source of light and support in our school,” Sheehan said. “She is the kind of colleague who makes people feel seen, valued and appreciated.”
The next teacher to receive a white rose and recommendation of tenure was Jessica Cohen, a special education teacher at both Glen Head and Sea Cliff Elementary. Megan McCormack, principal of Sea Cliff, and Sheehan spoke kindly of Cohen’s contributions to their schools and praised her ability to connect with students.
“[Cohen] is the pulse of our school, the calm in the chaos, the quiet energy that keeps things moving,” Sheehan said. “Everyone stands a little bit taller, knowing [Cohen’s] around – both teachers and students – because her classroom is more than a place of learning, it’s a place of belonging.”
Kristen Hill, a speech language pathologist at Glen Head and Sea Cliff, began her journey with the North Shore School District as a student teacher. Since then, she has blossomed into a “collaborator, a gifted communicator and a passionate advocate for her students,” McCormack said.
To speak to Hill’s character, McCormack read a few messages from Hill’s students. One read, “She is so nice and makes speech fun.”
Hill’s years of dedication to the North Shore School District is what earned her recommendation for tenure.
Monica Leitao, teaching assistant at Sea Cliff School, was also honored for her achievement of tenure from earlier in the school year.
Ryan O’Hara, principal of North Shore Middle School, recognized the only teacher from the middle school to be given this achievement: Stacy Houseman.
Houseman has worked for the North Shore School District for eight years. In that time, she has participated in a wide variety of professional learning in the English, civil discourse and etymology disciplines. She teachers her students to read further, look deeper and think more.
“I’ve now been here long enough to have the pleasure of serving as principal during the totality of the tenure years of the three teachers that I will be celebrating,” said Eric Contreras, principal of North Shore High School. “It’s such a privilege to see the full arch of their time, their service and dedication to our students at North Shore High School, and the entire district.”
The first teacher from the high school to be recommended for tenure was not only backed by the words of Contreras, but also by the presence of his students. David Catalano’s students surprised him by coming on stage and singing, showing their support of Catalano being recommended for tenure.
Music isn’t the only thing that rings through the halls of the high school – mandarin does as well, thanks to world language teacher LiHong (Tracy) Cai. Cai’s exemplary teaching strategies earned her a recommendation for tenure.
“In world language [classes], one of the goals is to speak in the target language,” Contreras said, “but in [Cai’s] classes, students laugh, sing, eat, travel, explore, discuss and feel emotions [in the target language].”
The last teacher to be recommended for tenure was Alessia Merritts, mathematics teacher at North Shore High. Merritts’ journey to tenure began when she first started to work at North Shore during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the teaching limitations at the time, Merritts stayed vigilant in engaging students in the lessons. This perseverance and dedication translated into her more recent years with the school, which have earned her the recommendation for tenure.
After all the heartfelt recommendations were completed, the Board of Education unanimously voted for all eight faculty to be awarded tenure.
