Huntington Celebrates Assistant Principals Week

Huntington UFSD celebrated its three assistant principals during National Assistant Principals Week. The district recognized the good work and efforts of Kenneth Parham, Gamal Smith and Patricia Avelli.

“National Assistant Principals Week is a celebration of the unsung heroes in our education system,” according to the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “These dedicated folks work tirelessly to bolster teachers, motivate students, support their principal, create a positive learning community, and face the many unpredictable challenges that land on their desk.”

Mr. Parham has been the assistant principal at J. Taylor Finley Middle School for two decades. He will be retiring at the end of June. Mr. Smith and Ms. Avelli are both assistant principals at Huntington High School.

“I want to take a moment to express my appreciation for our outstanding assistant principals,” Huntington Superintendent Beth McCoy said. “Their dedication, leadership and unwavering support for students, staff and families make a tremendous impact each day. Whether they are leading initiatives, supporting instruction, fostering a positive school culture or simply being a steady, trusted presence in the hallways, their contributions are invaluable. We are incredibly fortunate to have such talented and committed leaders in our schools. Thank you for everything you do!”

The three “APs” all play integral roles at their respective buildings and can be seen throughout the day making their way around hallways, darting in and out classrooms as well as observing classes and teachers and attending after school events.

“Assistant Principals play a crucial role and this week is a dedicated time to recognize them for their hard work and commitment to our schools, students, and profession,” according to the NASSP. “Please join us in celebrating these incredible school leaders!”

Kenneth C. Parham

J. Taylor Finley Middle School Assistant Principal Kenneth C. Parham came to Huntington from the Bay Shore school district where he worked for many years as a fifth grade teacher and later as dean of students.

As a fifth grade teacher, Mr. Parham instructed accelerated mathematics classes. He possesses computer literacy in a variety of software programs. Around Finley’s hallways and classrooms, he is a very visible leader and strong personality known for his wit and wisdom and general sense of humor.

Mr. Parham received his undergraduate degree in history with a minor in education at Dowling College in 1992. He obtained a master of science in school counseling at Long Island University–C.W. Post in 1997 and earned a certificate of advanced study in educational administration at Stony Brook University in 2005.

Mr. Parham has coached the Bay Shore men’s varsity basketball team to numerous championships. He has been voted coach of the year many times. He was also the Bay Shore women’s varsity basketball coach for two seasons.

Upon his own high school graduation, he initially attended the University of Texas at El Paso on a basketball scholarship before eventually transferring to Dowling and finishing his playing career there.

Mr. Parham has also coached basketball at St. Anthony’s, Huntington and New York Institute of Technology.

Gamal Smith

Gamal Smith has been an assistant principal at Huntington High School since July 2015. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and pre-med studies at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, where he also played on the varsity basketball team for four years. He earned a Master of Science degree at Mercy College in the Bronx and studied for his state administrative certification at Touro College in Manhattan.

Prior to joining Huntington’s administrative ranks, Mr. Smith worked as a teacher and lab instructor at Richmond Hill High School and John Adams High School, where he also served as dean of students. He was assistant principal at John W. Dodd Middle School in Freeport, dean of students/discipline at Brooklyn Lab School, assistant principal and science department chairman at Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health & Science Charter School in the Bronx, assistant principal at PS 212 in the Bronx and dean of students and a science teacher at PS 254 in the Bronx. He was also principal of Nassau BOCES PATH (Positive Alternative Twilight High School) for a year.

Mr. Smith has worked for several years as the assistant principal and principal of the Western Suffolk BOCES summer school program.

Over the years Mr. Smith has helped spearhead many initiatives at schools where he has worked, including Saturday, after school, extended day and early college awareness programs and science fairs and expos.

Patricia Avelli

Patricia Avelli has been an assistant principal at Huntington High School since August 29, 2023. She previously taught mathematics at Huntington High School since September 2011.

Ms. Avelli obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees at Adelphi University in May 2006 and May 2007, respectively. She studied for her state administrative certification at Stony Brook University.

The educator has taught a variety of courses at the high school, including Beacon program pre-calculus, pre-calculus honors, intermediate algebra inclusion, financial algebra, Common Core algebra and AIS, Common Core algebra inclusion, pre-calculus BC honors, intergraded algebra and AIS and algebra II honors.

Named a Distinguished Teacher in 2022, Ms. Avelli served as the Class of 2022 faculty advisor. She has been the National Honor Society advisor since 2017. The classroom veteran was previously the Math Honor Society advisor from 2014-2017.

While studying for her state administrative certification, Ms. Avelli interned with Huntington High School Principal Brenden Cusack. She has mentored new teachers, served on grading, scholarship and interview committees and was a member of the high school’s Leadership Team and Shared Decision Making Committee.