Woodhull’s Fran Johnnidis
Calls it a Career
Fran Johnnidis is in the last hours of her career. The Woodhull Intermediate School sixth grade teacher will close her classroom door for the last time early Friday afternoon after 22 years in the Huntington School District.
Ms. Johnnidis earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at St. John’s and Stony Brook, respectively. She taught in Seaford for five years before coming to Huntington, where she has worked at Jefferson, Southdown and Woodhull schools.
“The greatest honor I received in my teaching career was the Distinguished Teacher Award in 2005, having been nominated by seniors who I had taught in second grade,” Ms. Johnnidis said.
The soon-to-be retiree’s first eight years in the district were spent at Jefferson School as a second grade teacher. She then moved to Southdown for a six year stint in a fifth grade classroom. For the past eight years she has taught sixth graders at Woodhull.
“Having the opportunity to work with children and watch them grow has helped me fulfill a lifelong ambition to teach and make a difference in the life of a child,” Ms. Johnnidis said.
One of the joys of her job is reading and hearing about the activities of the youngsters that filled her classroom in years gone by. “I have enjoyed following the successes of my former students as they become young adults and begin their own careers,” Ms. Johnnidis said.
“My advice to all children is to strive to do your best and follow your dreams,” Ms. Johnnidis said. “When you finally choose a career, I hope you love what you do as much as I love teaching! My advice to parents as their job becomes more and more challenging is to stay involved, listen and talk to your children, know their friends and try to stay ten steps ahead of them rather than ten steps behind!”
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