Brenden Cusack Take the Reins of Huntington High School
Brenden Cusack is a very busy man, but he hasn’t been complaining. Huntington High School’s new principal has a spring in his step and enthusiasm in his voice. There was little time to kick back and relax this summer as the veteran educator has strived to put everything in place for the first day of classes.
After serving as the building’s assistant principal for three years, Mr. Cusack was appointed to the top post upon the June 30 retirement of Dr. Carmela Leonardi, the high school’s longtime principal. It’s a position he feels ready to assume after working hard to learn all the intricacies of the school.
“Having been an assistant principal here has allowed me to learn the culture of our school,” Mr. Cusack said. “An insider’s perspective is important in regard to the culture and climate of a building, because these are things you really can’t learn any other way. I have learned that so many of our students and faculty are willing to go the extra mile to help others in need, and this is truly something we can capitalize on, moving forward. Also, having been responsible for building the master schedule for the past three years really helped me to learn about all the ins and outs of our course offerings, the nuances of our building and many contractual items.”
Mr. Cusack is joined in his work by newly appointed assistant principals Joseph DiTroia and Gamal Smith. The leadership team wasted little time getting down to work, collaborating on plans to make the administrative transition seamless for students, teachers and paraprofessionals.
Known for his decisiveness, Mr. Cusack is expected to pursue excellence across all academic disciplines with dogged determination. Yet, the new principal is so pro-student that his office is sure to become a popular place for the more than 1,425 teenagers enrolled in classes this year.
Changes on the horizon
Will students notice any immediate differences in the building under its new principal? “I think there are some changes on the horizon that will be of note right away,” Mr. Cusack said. “Our research at Harvard last year and the surveys we administered to students and faculty led me to an understanding of the need to foster an increased sense of empathy within our school.”
Mr. Cusack said the finding was in alignment with national data that was presented at the Making Caring Common Institute at Harvard that he attended with Huntington High School teachers Helen Guarino and Kenneth Donovan last May.
“We learned that our students, like many across the country, feel that we could improve our sense of empathy toward each other,” Mr. Cusack said. “This is an area of focus for me this year, along with a number of others. To this end, I am planning to form student focus and discussion groups throughout the year, which will allow us to further delve into possible solutions to this issue by hearing student voices in an open and honest forum. I think that the very process of having these discussions will serve to improve communication and foster a nurturing environment.”
Mr. Cusack said he plans to invite a “wide array” of students to join these talks along with teachers and support staff members. “I am also initiating a high school ‘text of the day,’ which will feature a daily principal’s message to the student body. I’m hoping that this idea takes off, as it can also serve to impact our climate. I plan to include messages of inspiration and videos, some informational items and perhaps even brief surveys for students to share their thoughts with me and the administration regarding pertinent issues.”
Looks to Open Cafeteria Courtyard
The new principal said he’s looking to open the courtyard next to the cafeterias for student use during lunchtime. “I believe this was attempted in the past, but it became distracting for the classrooms surrounding the courtyard. I have some plans for further beautifying that area and allowing students to use it as a quiet space when the weather is nice. As long as students use it the right way and respect the surrounding classrooms, I think it will be a great addition. I feel it’s extremely important to have the option to get outside for at least a few minutes each day, so I’m willing to give this a try.”
Huntington High School’s new principal earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education at SUNY New Paltz in 1995 and a Master of Science in adolescent education/English 7-12 at CUNY Queens College in 2002. He obtained a professional diploma in school administration and supervision at CUNY-Queens College in 2005.
Mr. Cusack and his wife, Kerry, a school librarian in Bay Shore, are the parents of two sons, Seamus and Liam. The family has attended many Huntington High School events together over the past three years and one gets the sense that students and parents will be seeing even more of them in coming years.
Change brings new ideas
“New and fresh perspectives are likely to accompany any change in building leadership,” Superintendent James W. Polansky said. “While Mr. Cusack is new to the principalship at the high school, he is not new to the building or district. As an assistant principal, he became well versed in the district’s mission and recent goals. Importantly he is also acquainted with the student body, having come to know many students personally over the past several years. In his new role and with the core knowledge of the high school’s climate and culture that he has attained, he and his new team are poised to maintain or enhance successful curricular and extracurricular programs, add components where an unfilled need or interest exists, and/or remove or adjust where something does not draw adequate interest or has had limited success.”
Mr. Cusack already has plans in place to move Huntington High School forward and he seems well positioned along with his team to lead the charge. “A significant step in accomplishing any such tasks as an administrative team is knowing your students,” Mr. Polansky said. “What we have in Mr. Cusack, as well as in new Assistant Principals Gamal Smith and Joseph DiTroia, are individuals whom I know will be intimately involved in daily life within the building, place the needs of their students first, provide students with opportunities that they find meaningful and strive to prepare them for life beyond Huntington High School.”
Classroom instruction is the lifeblood
The lifeblood of any high school is what goes on in classrooms and Mr. Cusack is well aware of that. “Instructionally speaking, our focus will be on differentiating our instructional practices in an effort to reach all of our students, from those who excel academically to those who struggle with certain subjects,” he said. “Students and teachers may see administrators performing walkthroughs during class time, as we have in the past, and differentiation will be part of the focus. I also plan to continue to work with teams of teachers and the faculty in general on driving our instructional practices with important student data. Finding additional ways of engaging parents and the community is also a goal of mine.”
With all the talk about improving the high school, Mr. Cusack said he wants to assure the community that it is already an “outstanding” place. “We are currently in good standing with the New York State Education Department and we are poised to take even greater strides toward excellence,” he said. “We are a diverse, caring and smart school and I challenge anyone to find a high school with greater potential. I am looking forward to great things from our students and faculty this year and in the years to come.”
Motivation to Teach
Mr. Cusack didn’t always know he wanted to be a principal or even a teacher. “I wasn’t too sure of what I wanted to pursue as a career until my senior year in high school, when I had an English teacher who made the job of teacher look unbelievably fun,” he said. “It dawned on me at that point that this was the direction I should take.” Already a strong writer and possessing an appreciation for literature in general, he decided to begin studying for a career as an English teacher.
“As far as administration is concerned, I had some leadership roles as a teacher and found them to be very rewarding,” Mr. Cusack said. After teaching English for eight years, he made the move to administration, a decision he describes as “a truly fulfilling career move.”
Huntington High School’s new leader said he enjoys working in administration because of the greater influence he feels he is able to have on the overall program offered to students. “I feel that having the opportunity to have a positive impact on a more global scale makes the demands of this type of job worthwhile,” he said.
Enjoying Huntington High School
Mr. Cusack especially enjoys working directly with the teenagers that fill the building. “Interacting with students on a personal level and laughing with them,” is the best part of his job, the principal said. “I think that my favorite part of this role is when I have an opportunity to help a student, whether academically, socially or otherwise.”
Students attending Huntington High School can vouch for his statement, as the new principal is widely known for his genuine smile and ability to create strong relationships with students. “If you are ever in need of help, Mr. Cusack is always willing and usually able to help,” a senior said.
The veteran administrator said he also cherishes his colleagues who he believes put students first. “The vast majority of people here are true team players who strive to continuously improve,” Mr. Cusack said. “Some say that careers in education can be thankless at times, but I haven’t found that to be the norm here in Huntington. Sure, we all have our tough days, but I have found more often than not, when you go out of your way for someone, they truly appreciate it and that makes all the difference.”
Kept Busy Over the Summer
Being an administrator is an everyday job. Although schools were closed for the summer, Mr. Cusack stayed very busy. His summer consisted of “serving on selection committees charged with the task of interviewing candidates for teaching and administrative positions,” as well as “physically moving from one office to another,” he said.
Mr. Cusack has also been working closely with Mr. Smith and Mr. DiTroia and helping them prepare for the new school year. He collaborated with Mr. DiTroia on the creation of the building’s master schedule.
“Planning for a new school year is an ongoing process,” Mr. Cusack said. He served on teacher hiring committees and had to physical move offices. Freshman orientation has to be tediously planned out over the summer. It features ninth graders flooding into the high school for tours led by upperclassmen and sessions designed to smooth their transition into a new daily routine, including classes and clubs.
Summer planning didn’t end there for Mr. Cusack. He developed a program for his first faculty meeting as principal on superintendent’s conference day and for the separate assemblies held on Wednesday for grades 9-10 and 11-12.
Advice to Stay Involved
Mr. Cusack is a strong proponent of afterschool activities. He believes that students, if possible, should all try to “engage with a club or a sport,” as these experiences complement the classroom educational program.
“There is so much that we offer here and I think being involved is an essential component of high school life,” Mr. Cusack said. “Many students are involved in multiple extracurricular activities and while I find them to be some of the busiest people I know, I also find them to be the happiest, most engaged and invested students in our school.”
District executives are expecting Mr. Cusack and his team to continue improving Huntington High School’s instructional and co-curricular programs. “Our high school has made tremendous strides over the past several years in terms of providing a wealth of productive choices for students who have a broad range of interests, striking an excellent balance between rigor and support,” Mr. Polansky said. “I firmly believe that this team is in a great position to continue this trend and then some.”
Students know that school can be hard work, but they want it to be fun, too. Mr. Cusack shares the sentiment. Huntington’s new principal can display one of the best “poker faces” around, but he also is known for a wicked sense of humor and his desire to make the high school a happy place for everyone.
(This story was written by Emma DeGennaro, a Huntington High School senior who is interning in the district’s office of public information this year.)