Copiague School District has appointed Francis Salazar as assistant principal at Copiague Middle School, effective Aug. 26. He replaces Michael Ferretti, who was recently named the district’s director of school climate.

Mr. Salazar has been working in the Copiague School District since 2006, starting as a special education teacher at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School. From 2012-2015, he worked as a summer school administrator and has served as the summer school principal since 2017. Most recently, Mr. Salazar was the district’s social studies department chairperson. He has been the varsity girls bowling coach since 2013 and previously worked as an assistant varsity football coach.

Mr. Salazar holds a Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY Oneonta and a master’s degree in special education and social studies from Manhattanville College. He also has a certification in school building leader from the College of Saint Rose. 

The Copiague Public Schools is excited to announce it will implement the federally funded USDA National School Lunch and Breakfast Community Eligibility Provision for the 2019-2020 school year. All students enrolled in the Copiague Public Schools are now eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no charge. 

For more information, including frequently asked questions, click here. 

Copiague School District has named Michael Ferretti as director of school climate, effective July 1.

Mr. Ferretti previously served as assistant principal of Copiague Middle School since July 2013. He has worked in the Copiague School District since 2007, first serving as an English teacher and then as English department chairperson. Mr. Ferretti also currently works as an adjunct professor at Molloy College.

Mr. Ferretti holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from St. John’s University and a master’s degree in adolescent education from Molloy College. He also has professional diplomas in school district leader and school building leader from Dowling College.

In his newly created position in the Copiague School District, Mr. Ferretti will be charged with supervising security staff and coordinating with local, state and federal law enforcement on all safety procedures. He will manage and evaluate all district safety drills and procedures in addition focusing on the district’s character education curriculum. Mr. Ferretti plans to implement new programs to help improve school climate and design a restorative practices program districtwide.

Fourth graders in the elementary summer school program at Susan E. Wiley Elementary School are using their STEM skills to design and test their own rocket ships. They were tasked with creating their own unique ship out of a soda bottle. After the design phase was complete, the students headed out to the field behind the school for launch. The bottles were filled with water and each student pumped their ship full of air as they flew high in the air.