Interview with Deirdre DeAngelis, March 2006

Ms. Deirdre DeAngelis, Principal of New Dorp High School in New Dorp, Staten Island, is of Norwegian and Italian descent. Her mother’s parents came from Norway and her both of her father’s parents immigrated from Naples, Italy. Both sets of grandparents settled in Brooklyn, New York, where Ms. DeAngelis’ parents were born and met. The first part of the interview chronicles the career path of Ms. DeAngelis from her own schooling as a child in the public education system of New York City to her college experience at NYU and Brooklyn College and in becoming a teacher, assistant principal in Brooklyn at Telecommunications High School in Bay Ridge, and finally becoming the principal at New Dorp High School. The second part of the interview explores the changes occurring at her high school and the way in which she runs the school. A major project discussed is her school’s participation in Bill Gates’ Small Learning Communities Project in which the school has received a $1 million grant in order to create 8 mini-schools within the high school to exist in the 4 wings of the building each being theme-based to give the students a more personalized learning experience. DeAngelis’ also discusses her personal style of leadership and issues of the community of Staten Island.
The conclusion of the interview reflects on the relationship between Ms. DeAngelis’ personal life with her professional life within the school and the ways in which she balances both realms of her world.