A Tradition of Excellence at
Finley Middle School
Finley Middle School Headlines
Finley Art Students Exhibiting Work in St. James
Eight J. Taylor Finley Middle School students have had artwork chosen for exhibit at the 2nd Annual Middle & High School Student Artists Juried Show at The Atelier at Flowerfield in St. James.
Cinderella on Stage at Finley on Friday & Saturday
The J. Taylor Finley Middle School drama club will present “Cinderella” on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. with Deveren Flynn in the lead role. Rehearsals are nearly complete and the actors and stagehands can’t wait to perform for what is expected to be two sold out houses.
Finley Students Capture On a Roll Award
J. Taylor Finley Middle School is celebrating a large group of seventh and eighth graders who garnered the On a Roll Award after significantly improving their classroom performance during the recent second marking period.
Finley Voices Performs for Trustees
Finley Voices took the stage at last week’s public meeting of the Huntington School Board in the Adam Spector Auditorium at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School and performed for trustees, district officials and residents.
Finley Celebrates Veterans on Valentine’s Day
Honoring local veterans. The time is always right for it. So J. Taylor Finley Middle School’s Valentine’s Day efforts to recognize those who have served their country in uniform was timely.
Sixth Grade Parents Attend Informational Night at Finley
J. Taylor Finley Middle School hosted parents of Woodhull Intermediate School and Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School sixth graders for an informational presentation about the programs and classes that await the group as seventh graders next fall.
Finley Students Welcome Math Challenges
Ambitious seventh and eighth graders at J. Taylor Finley Middle School are welcoming the myriad of challenges that come with participating in the Mathcounts and Mathletes co-curricular programs.
Finley’s Community Club Making a Difference
Faculty advisors Ingrid Moreira and Jessica Mollica have collaborated with a group of energetic students to produce a spectacular J. Taylor Finley Middle School community club this school years.
Finley Excited as it Marches into 2023
J. Taylor Finley Middle School charged into 2023 with a sense of excitement. The school opened in September 1965 and since then has educated tens of thousands of students in the community. More than 650 seventh and eighth graders call the school home today.
Finley Honor Society Fights Breast Cancer
A contingent of J. Taylor Finley Middle School National Junior Honor Society members were up at the crack of dawn one bright fall Sunday to participate in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at Jones Beach.
Finley Voices Fill School with Spectacular Sounds
J. Taylor Finley Middle School has many sweet sounding voices. Just close your eyes and listen to these talented seventh and eighth graders sing. They are simply spectacular.
Finley Yorker Club Welcomes New Members
The J. Taylor Finley Yorker club is for seventh and eighth graders who have an interest in history and a desire to dig a little bit deeper into it.
Finley Student Government Working Hard
The J. Taylor Finley Middle School Student Government Association is up and running with the executive officers team working hard to generate ideas and develop plans to make the school experience better for every seventh and eighth grader.
Restorative Circles Debut at Finley Middle School
A new restorative circles program is debuting at J. Taylor Finley Middle School this fall. Teachers and students recently participated in a building-wide introduction to the initiative. Finley’s first PTA meeting of the year included a demonstration of the concept for parents.
Finley STEM 7 Program Set to Debut
J. Taylor Finley Middle School seventh graders will experience many new academic opportunities this year, including a STEM 7 program that was approved by the Huntington School Board last spring.
New Enrichment in History and Civic Action at Finley
The start of the 2022/23 school year will usher in a new enrichment program in history and civic action at J. Taylor Finley Middle School.
Finley Middle School Important Information
- Guidance Dept. 8th Grade Parent Letter (English/Spanish)
- Guidance Dept. Program Planning for 8th Grade
- Finley Middle School Comprehensive Improvement Plan 2022-23
- J. Taylor Finley 2022-23 Curriculum Guide (English and Spanish version)
- J. Taylor Finley Middle School - Student Handbook 2020-21
- Huntington UFSD Finley Guidance Plan 2022-23
- Revised Field Trip Parent-Guardian Consent Form (During School Hours: English and Spanish)
- J. Taylor Finley Drama Club Productions Since 2000
About Finley Middle
Student-Centered
A school is much more than bricks and mortar or a compilation of facts and information. At J. Taylor Finley Middle School, faculty and support staff members have purposely created a student-centered environment that is academically challenging, psychologically satisfying, and socially fulfilling.
Vital Roles
Because the adolescent period is an extremely important phase in every youngster’s development, the middle school plays a vital role in helping each student blossom into an independent and well-educated person.
Guidance through Critical Transitions
Finley relies on its excellent staff to ease students into and to guide them through this very critical transition from a self-contained elementary school classroom to a departmentalized program. Faculty members are aware of the importance of a close teacher-student relationship and of teacher-parent contacts. They foster growth in the ability of students to make decisions and to work independently. Teachers utilize a humanistic approach as they encourage and challenge students to set realistic and attainable standards of academic performance and social interaction.
Strong Foundational Skills
J. Taylor Finley Middle School has developed a program to build upon and emphasize the strong foundation of skills each student has acquired at the elementary school level, to pursue further the many different academic disciplines, to explore the creative and aesthetic areas of the fine and practical arts, to expand the awareness of career possibilities and to cultivate lifelong physical and recreational skills.
Flexibility, individualization and enrichment characterize the wide range of student experiences at J. Taylor Finley Middle School, which has been serving the community for more than four decades.
Finley Leadership
Traci Roethel
Principal
Traci Roethel has been principal of J. Taylor Finley Middle School since July 1, 2019. She was Woodhull Intermediate School’s principal for 5½ years after coming to Huntington from Candlewood Middle School in Dix Hills, where she was an assistant principal.
Mrs. Roethel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education at Stetson University in Florida in 1992. She obtained a Master of Science degree in education with a specialization in math at Queens College in 2003 and completed an advanced graduate certificate in educational leadership at Stony Brook University in 2009.
Mrs. Roethel has completed numerous educational workshops related to curriculum and improving instruction, including Columbia University Teacher’s College seminars.
Prior to embarking on an administrative career, Mrs. Roethel worked as a sixth grade math teacher and fourth grade classroom teacher in Oyster Bay and as a math consultant to the Oyster Bay-East Norwich, Shoreham-Wading River and Hicksville school districts. She was a fourth grade teacher in Volusia County, Florida for seven years before moving to New York.
Mrs. Roethel and her husband, Guenther, a captain with JetBlue Airways, are the parents of three children.
Mrs. Roethel is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Kenneth Parham
Assistant Principal
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 league titles and the Suffolk championship in 2004. 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.
Finley Faculty and Staff Directory
Finley Videos and Galleries
HHS National Honor Society Induction Ceremony 2021
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HHS National Honor Society Induction Ceremony 2021
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