A Huntington Original to Receive Huntington Foundation Spirit Award
It’s a given that Vicki Mingin’s commitment and dedication to the Huntington School District is unsurpassed. She’s a Huntington original, growing up and attending school here and going on to serve for more than 25 years as a teacher, coach and administrator.
From humble beginnings, Dr. Mingin has risen through the ranks of the Huntington School District to assume her present position as executive director of special education and student support programs. Few can come close to matching her long involvement in the district she loves and is so closely identified with in professional circles.
In recognition of a lifetime of devotion to the district’s students, the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education will honor Dr. Mingin with the group’s Spirit Award at its annual fundraising gala at the Woodlands in Woodbury on January 25. Tickets are now on sale.
Dr. Mingin’s formal education began in the 1950’s when as a young girl she strolled through the front door of Flower Hill Elementary School to begin kindergarten. She stayed there through sixth grade before moving on to R.L. Simpson Junior High School (now town hall) on Main Street for seventh grade where she lived through a unique time in the district’s history. So many students were flooding into the schools that Simpson was placed on split sessions, with morning and afternoon shifts.
A trailblazer even during those early years, Dr. Mingin was a member of the first class to enter J. Taylor Finley Junior High School when it opened in September 1965. As an eighth grader there, she was a key player on the softball, volleyball and basketball teams.
That same interest in sports continued throughout high school as Dr. Mingin, at one time or another was a member of the Blue Devil softball, volleyball and basketball programs and she even played on Huntington’s 1969 Long Island championship field hockey team. She received the Suffolk Gold Key Award for her extraordinary participation in high school athletics.
“All eight of my brothers and sisters (there are nine Mingin children in all) graduated from Huntington High School and all started at Flower Hill School,” Dr. Mingin said proudly. She has had such a long association with the district that her knowledge of its people, programs and traditions is almost unmatched.
Widely regarded as an expert in the intricacies of special education statutes and regulations, Dr. Mingin has gained a statewide reputation. A member of Huntington High School’s Class of 1970, she holds several degrees from the University of South Florida, including a B.A. in physical education and health (1974), an M.A. in adaptive physical education and special education (1975) and an Ed.S. in administration supervision (1980). In 2006 she obtained an Ed.D. at Hofstra.
Following her college graduation, Dr. Mingin worked for several years in Florida, including stints as a graduate teaching assistant, adjunct instructor, visiting instructor and intern supervisor at the University of South Florida, as a physical education and health teacher in Tampa and as a self contained classroom teacher in Duval County. She also taught night courses at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa and at the University of South Florida. An accomplished athlete and track star, she has coached the sport in both Florida and Huntington.
Dr. Mingin’s teaching career in Huntington began in 1982. She has been a mainstay in the district ever since. She is a well known and highly regarded presenter at special education conferences and workshops and has gained a reputation as one of the leaders in her field. She maintains memberships in numerous professional associations.
An energetic and knowledgeable advocate for the programs she leads, Dr. Mingin is a true Huntingtonian. “Over the years Vicki has demonstrated extraordinary loyalty and devotion to our district,” Superintendent John J. Finello said. “Her eagerness to devise creative programs and strategies in order to advance the education of our students is remarkable.”
Vicki Mingin: A Huntington original and still a trailblazer, even after all these years.
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