Brenden Cusack Appointed HHS Assistant Principal
Brenden Cusack was all smiles this past Monday evening as the Huntington School Board appointed the veteran educator to serve as Huntington High School's assistant principal, effective July 1. He will take over from Angelo Noce who is retiring at the conclusion of the current school year.
Mr. Cusack is coming to the district from Hicksville High School, where he has been an assistant principal since August 2009. Prior to that position, he was an administrative dean at Walt Whitman High School for four years and an English teacher at Freeport High School for eight years.
"Mr. Cusack comes to us with a proven track record and extensive teaching and administrative experience at the high school level," Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky said. "I firmly believe that he is poised to make an immediate and significantly positive impact in Huntington."
A 1995 graduate of SUNY New Paltz (BA in education), Mr. Cusack earned a Master of Science degree at CUNY-Queens College in 2002 in adolescence education/English 7-12. He obtained a professional diploma in school administration and supervision at CUNY-Queens College in 2005.
At Freeport High School, Mr. Cusack taught Advanced Placement literature and theatre arts, served as a class advisor for four years, chaired the Middle States Committee on Educational Programs and produced school plays from 2001-2005. He has also been employed as an assistant principal of the Freeport School District's summer school program and assistant principal of the Western Suffolk BOCES regional summer school.
District officials reviewed 20 applications for the position, conducted pre-screenings with all of those individuals and held personal interviews with five candidates before Mr. Cusack was recommended to trustees for appointment.
Mr. Noce came to the district more than two decades ago to serve as a teacher-chairman of the physical education. He was later elevated to administrative assistant and then to assistant principal. The soon to be retiree began his career in the New York City schools, where he served in a number of roles including school neighborhood worker, attendance and family assistant, student organization, mini-school and grade level advisor, coordinator of student affairs, teacher of physical education, swimming and health, dean of boys and acting assistant principal for physical and health education.
A graduate of the City University of New York-Queens College in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education, Mr. Noce obtained a Master of Arts degree in health education at Adelphi University in 1975 and later received his administrative certification through New York University.