Interview with Jacquelyn Treglia, March 2006

Ms. Jacquelyn Treglia, History teacher at the Intermediate School of the Michael J. Petrides’ School in Staten Island, is of Syrian and Italian descent. Her mother’s parents came from Sicily and her father’s parents immigrated from Syria on his mother’s side and Italy on his father’s side. Both sides first settled in Carroll Garden’s, Brooklyn where both her parents were born and met. When Ms. Treglia was nine years old, she moved to Oakwood Heights, Staten Island with her parents and younger brother. The first half of the interview chronicles Ms. Treglia’s path in education as a student in Brooklyn and Staten Island public schools, and then CSI and St. Francis College in Brooklyn. After graduating, Ms. Treglia began teaching and is also continuing her education at Touro College where she is studying to obtain her master’s degree. In the second part of the interview, Ms. Treglia discusses her leadership roles within her school including being the faculty advisor for the Junior National Honor Society and Dance Team at her school and being the faculty advisor for the SING production at the high school of the educational complex. She discusses the unique setting of the Michael J. Petrides’ school as well. She discusses the components of leadership and personal accounts of being a leader in the classroom. The conclusion of the interview explores Ms. Treglia’s aspirations for leadership positions in the future including one day becoming a principal herself.