4 North Shore Towers Courier n January 2016 RICHARD CALIENDO What were your early years like? I was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Queens in, shall we say, a nonprosperous family of six. My two greatest interests involved reading and wondering what was for dinner. I actually wanted to write professionally but didn’t think I could make a living doing that. So I gravitated towards the safety of civil service. Translated, I became a teacher. I was drafted into the Army in 1957 and assigned as a logistics instructor in Fort Dix. While on night duty, I would read army regulations to learn whether any circumstances permitted early discharge. Bingo! If you had a job as a teacher, you were out in 21 months instead of 24. On leave, I interviewed at David Boody JHS in Brooklyn,District 21, and the principal wrote a letter saying he was ready to hire me. Bingo again! I was released three months early and started teaching English in January 1959. What were some life lessons you learned along the way? I became an assistant principal in 1966 and an elementary school principal in 1972. My political education began in 1977 when I applied for the position of Assistant Superintendent with the assurance that the three candidates chosen from the first round of interviews would become finalists. I was one of the top three but was suddenly informed that someone from outside the district would be interviewed instead. Surprise! The replacement candidate just happened to be on the school board. I sort of got the message and began applying to schools on Long Island. In 1977, I became principal of the Elmont Memorial High School, a 7-12 school in Nassau County. In the middle of my third year there I interviewed for the Superintendency of the Elmont Elementary School District. Because the superintendent suddenly resigned, I spent mornings as Superintendent of the Elmont Elementary School District and afternoons as principal of the high school, a situation that lasted through June 1980. Rest assured, I will never forget that experience. What was your Connecticut experience like. I went on to become Superintendent of the Rocky Hill School District located close to Hartford. There, for the first time, I experienced Boards of Education that were politically structured. I was hired by a Democratic Board that lost election to a Republican Board the following year. The input I received in both cases was, you can be certain, a bit mind bending and finalized a decision that I would be best off finishing my career at the college level.. I taught as an Adjunct Professor of the Humanities for three years a the Albertus Magus College in New Haven. At about that time, my kids began having kids and I knew it was time to go home. In 1998, I returned to New York and began teaching School Law at Long Island University. I “retired” in 2009 after more than 50 interesting, memory-filled years in the field. What else have you done? I published a number of professional articles as well as several short stories. And while my career in education paid the bills, I had some limited success writing children’s operettas most of which were performed. One of the operas, Romeo and Juliet, was selected for performance at the Metropolitan Opera Studio in 1969 and at Columbia University in 1964. The North Shore Community Orchestra did a black tie presentation in 1986. I have played with writing song lyrics and actually had one of my songs recorded. The GI Bill of Rights played an important role in my life, enabling me to earn several Masters Degrees and a Doctorate as well as certification as a Legal Assistant. Thank you, GI Bill! disconcerted by the claim by educators that the schools are all about kids even as huge numbers of them perform unacceptably on standardized tests. That never happened in the schools or districts that I was in charge of simply because it was not an option. Whether it took a bond issue or additional staff or training or an increased tax rate or a capital improvement or a policy change – even a disagreement with the Board of Education -everyone got the message that the children came first. Scores on state and standardized tests increased dramatically. I paid a schools. In the end, those who said that change would take forever were proven wrong. If you know you were true to yourself and those in your trust, you’ve done all you can do. I like pretty much everything about living at North Shore Towers. Especially living with neighbors whose lives have been success stories, who have nothing more to prove, yet who are stimulating and involved. While I am often in Manhattan or Brooklyn, I always look forward to returning to his place I now call home. Students come first Richard Caliendo, of Building One, is an example of the American dream come true. A self-made man born into a “non-prosperous” family of six with determination and a boost from the “GI Bill of Rights” he went on to become a member of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and a Superintendent of Schools in two states. Ever grateful for this opportunity he showed his love of music by writing operas as well as articles for professional journals. priority as Superintendent? I’m alternately amused and price for my singularity at contract time. But I made it my goal to work for children. Voting parents knew good things were happening in their What was your number one
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