Acting District 14 Superintendent Alicja Winnicki

An Open Letter to the Community from Acting District 14 Superintendent Alicja Winnicki

Dear Parents and District 14 Community Members,

I am very excited to have this opportunity to write about our district’s public schools as your new Acting Superintendent. I feel honored and privileged to lead Community School District 14 as a humble successor of Fred Rubino and Jim Quail. I have resided in Greenpoint for many years and have spent my entire career as an educator in this district. In that time, I have gotten to know many of the families, community members, and children of this district first as their teacher and assistant principal in JHS 50 and then as principal of PS 34. My philosophy has always been to educate the “whole child” by setting high academic expectations, involving parents and families in the process, and providing a variety of enrichment opportunities.

District 14 is a truly strong and respected community with public schools that have become vibrant academic, social and cultural centers. Your priority is to place your child in your local elementary, middle and high school, and ours is to prepare them for today’s world. Many of our elementary and middle schools are theme based magnet schools, offering a gamut of interdisciplinary opportunities. Community zoned schools, even without the magnet financial support, offer unique academic advantages through well established partnerships and collaborations. I encourage you to read about these schools, to check out their websites, and, most of all, to tour them. With a personal visit, you can intimately experience the culture of each institution by speaking to the staff, viewing classrooms, and watching students develop firsthand.

Why else recommend District 14 public schools? As an educator and parent, I can assure you that the quality of the leadership and teaching staff is exceptional. All the principals and assistant principals are former teachers and staff developers. In addition to their Master Degrees in Supervision and Administration they hold double, or sometimes, triple masters. Some have PhDs. Several are alumni of the distinguished Cahn Fellows Program at Columbia University. They continuously participate in professional workshops and attend educational conferences so they can lead and support their schools’ academic agendas.

Our teachers, on the other hand, are a prime example of what adult continuing education means. To fulfill NYS teaching license requirements, they take content specific graduate courses, obtain multiple degrees, and are trained in the implementation of academic standards. Most importantly, our leaders, teachers, and staff members, many of whom are former or current local residents, are dedicated and committed to the children of the district. Many of our schools and their academic and community events have often been featured in the Greenpoint Gazette and Greenline. The latest NYC School Survey is a testimony to how our schools value parents and how strongly the parents feel about their schools.

Parents and families are invaluable when it comes to each school’s improvement and success. I am looking forward to meeting all of you at your schools’ PTA meetings and at our monthly Community Educational Council’s (CEC) meetings held at the District Office at 215 Heyward Street. I also encourage all families to come to the monthly CEC meetings and take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn about their public schools, get involved in decision making and have their voice heard.

I hope to meet you and talk to you about your expectations, ideas, and plans for making District 14 schools successful.

Yours truly,

Alicja Winnicki
District 14 Acting Superintendent

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