Tony Barresi Lives an Active Retirement
Anyone who really believed that Tony Barresi would fade away in retirement couldn’t have been more mistaken. Since stepping down as principal of Jefferson Primary School in June 2006, the longtime Huntington faculty member has continued to keep abreast of school developments and trends in education and has been a frequent presence in and around the district.
Since retiring, Mr. Barresi has regularly been called upon to fill-in for district principals away from their schools. His deep knowledge of the district, its teachers, students and parents, allows him to do so seamlessly, much to the delight of the school communities he has served. He even helped serve food in the kitchen during Woodhull School’s annual pasta night last month.
Since leaving his full-time position and officially retiring, Mr. Barresi has had time to reflect upon his career. “My philosophy was to always treat my students and staff in a kind compassionate manner,” he said. “To empower my staff to strive to do their best and to keep their focus on doing what was best for students.”
Witnessed Breathtaking Changes
During a career that provided him with a box seat on breathtaking changes in the district, Mr. Barresi has almost seen it all. “My fondest memory is that I worked with some of the best students and teachers in education,” he said. “Having been here for 38 years, it was truly the best work experience I could have ever imagined.”
Mr. Barresi earned an undergraduate degree in business management at C.W. Post College. While working for J.C. Penny Co., he returned to the C.W. Post campus on a part-time basis, eventually obtaining a Master’s degree in elementary education in 1972. A few weeks later he went to work at Woodhull Elementary School as a sixth grade teacher and has been involved with the Huntington School District ever since.
It didn’t take very long for him to settle into life as a sixth grade teacher. He directed several performances of “Scrooge” with his classes and along with his grade level colleagues, staged an annual Medieval Fair. Mr. Barresi remained on the sixth grade level at Woodhull for many years until the sixth grade was moved out of the school and into a wing at Robert K. Toaz Junior High School. He later moved to Jefferson Elementary School and worked there as a third grade teacher. From 1982-84 he was a SEARCH program teacher, including working with Math Olympiad students.
Science and Computer Coordinator
In 1984 Mr. Barresi became the district’s elementary science and computer coordinator. During his two years in the post he introduced and implemented the ESP science program to the district. He also provided extensive training of elementary teachers in both fields – science and the use of computers as an educational tool, introducing new software and conducting workshops. Before he left the position he trained current Huntington Superintendent John J. Finello as his replacement.
After receiving his professional diploma in school administration from Long Island University in 1985, Mr. Barresi headed into the administrative ranks. He was named principal of Flower Hill School in 1986, remaining there until 1995 when he took over as principal at Jefferson School, where he stayed until he retired in June 2006.
As an elementary principal he introduced the concept of child study teams. At Flower Hill, Mr. Barresi stressed the use of literature as the main source of instruction in the reading program. “I empowered my teachers to strive to do their best and in doing so many have gone on to be specialists in their fields and also went on to become administrators,” he said.
While at Jefferson, Mr. Barresi coordinated several school field trips to the Bronx Zoo, involving over 550 students, teachers and parents at a time and brought the Big Apple Circus to the school.
During the last few years, Mr. Barresi and his wife Christine, a teacher at Woodhull School, have enjoyed vacations to Mexico, Europe and throughout the United States. The couple enjoys golf and gardening. The retired principal also likes to think of himself as a good cook. No word on if his wife agrees with that assessment.
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