Rylee Davis Wins Joan Lehnert Mathematics Award

Huntington Class of 2024 member Rylee Davis is this year’s recipient of the Joan Lehnert Mathematics Award. Ms. Davis plans to attend Carleton College.

An Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction and National Honor Society member, Ms. Davis was recognized as a Distinguished Senior. She traveled to New Orleans with the high school’s Habitat for Humanity chapter on a volunteer service trip. She also wrote for The Dispatch student newspaper and volunteered with the Key Club.

Ms. Davis is a gem of a student, excelling in all areas, including mathematics. Mrs. Lehnert would have loved having her in class. It’s fitting the teenager won an award named after the longtime district math teacher.

“I moved to Huntington my sophomore year,” Ms. Davis said. “Since beginning my time at Huntington High School, I have developed wonderful relationships with my peers and teachers. I have grown as a student immensely, becoming more confident in my academic abilities. I improved my study skills, discovered new interests and increased my work quality. I am especially grateful to my teachers these past three years. They taught me skills relevant to not only the course material, but also to my personal development. Though my family recently moved to Texas, I will also consider Huntington my home.”

The Joan Lehnert Mathematics Award was presented by department director Dr. Teresa Grossane and Math Honor Society faculty advisor Monica Racz. The award carries a $1,000 stipend.

Mrs. Lehnert lived in the community and sent her own children through the district. Her career in Huntington UFSD began in February 1993 in a math teaching assignment split between the high school and J. Taylor Finley Middle School. She taught exclusively at the high school from 1she has worked exclusively at the high school.

“I have enjoyed working here with so many fine people, in the community in which I live, and have never regretted my decision to teach,” said Mrs. Lehnert in her final months as a teacher.

Mrs. Lehnert earned an Associate of Arts degree at Nassau Community College in December 1977. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics at LIU-C.W. Post in May 1977 and a Master of Science in educational technology, also at C.W. Post, in May 1986.

Teaching was a second career for Mrs. Lehnert, who previously worked at Citibank. She completed her student teaching requirements at Huntington High School in 1987 under cooperating teacher Virginia Tutschulte. She initially worked in a Catholic school and then served as a leave replacement in Manhasset, before landing the position in Huntington.

Mrs. Lehnert passed away on August 3, 2023.