Lara Gonzalez has been appointed to serve as Woodhull Intermediate School’s new principal, effective August 1. Huntington School Board members voted 7-0 to put the veteran educator in the post during a public meeting this past Monday at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School.
At the time of her appointment in Huntington, Ms. Gonzalez had been serving as an assistant principal at Oyster Bay Jr.-Sr. High School for five years.
A Great Neck social studies teacher from September 2000 through June 2009, Ms. Gonzalez went on to serve as supervisor of social studies and world languages in West Hempstead for two years and was then as the supervisor of social studies, K-12 in Oyster Bay for the three years preceding her appointment as assistant principal for grades 7-9.
Ms. Gonzalez obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government at the University of California, Berkeley in 1991. She earned a master’s degree in international relations and affairs at the University of California’s San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy in 1994 and a second master’s degree in educational leadership and administration at Columbia University’s Teachers College in 2007. She was awarded a Doctor of Education degree by Hofstra University in May 2019.
“We are beyond excited to welcome Dr. Gonzalez as Woodhull’s next principal,” Superintendent James W. Polansky said. “She comes to Huntington with a strong curricular and instructional background, as well as a proven ability to connect and build meaningful relationships with students and their families, staff and community members. She is eager to hit the ground running and become an integral member of the Huntington School District family. We look forward to supporting her in all regards.”
The Woodhull principal’s position was vacated at the end of the 2018/19 school year by Traci Roethel, who was earlier named J. Taylor Finley Middle School’s new principal, effective July 1. She replaced retiring Principal John Amato.