Department headed by former assistant director
The Garden City Public School District is excited to welcome Lynette Abruzzo as its new director of Pupil Personnel Services (PPS). The position was vacated by Catherine Wheeler, who retired this summer. Abruzzo began working in the district earlier this year in January as the assistant director of PPS.
“I look forward to supporting the students here. To support their growth, help prepare them so that they have all the tools they need to be successful when they leave here. To be successful in their life and maximize their potential,” Abruzzo said of her plans for the new position.
Because Abruzzo began working in the district at the end of the previous school year, she says the transition to director has been seamless. “It’s really been a wonderful experience from the minute I started,” she added.
The director of PPS is afforded the opportunity to work with experts in many fields. The position encompasses school psychologists, special education, speech pathologists, social workers, and nurses, “…all of whom come together to support the students. We have a shared vision,” Abruzzo said. She began her career as a speech pathologist.
The whole PPS department is committed to providing the best possible education to Garden City students: “We hope that all students reflect back on their time in the Garden City schools and see that time as a time of growth in all areas of development.”
Abruzzo’s passion for the field of special education and helping to support students with disabilities began when a friend suffered a brain injury in a serious car accident. Her friend’s recovery process was a difficult one.
“She slowly regained her skills but as I watched her, I learned the importance of slow, steady progress. I was in school at the time and I became excited about helping students with disabilities gain strategies to reach their goals,” Abruzzo explained. “I am inspired as I watch students with disabilities try things that they have never tried before.”
Throughout her career, Abruzzo has worked in many different related fields. But they have all contributed to her ability to see issues from all sides. The common thread in all those other jobs has always been preparing students to meet the world at the best of their abilities.
Before coming to work at Garden City, Abruzzo served as the Assistant Director of PPS in the West Hempstead UFSD. She’s held a variety of positions over the years, including preschool program director for the New Interdisciplinary School, the coordinator of Related Services for the Early Childhood Development Program at Schneider Children’s Hospital and a speech/language pathologist at the Children’s Center and Vocational Center at UCP, Queens.
In 2005, Abruzzo was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the New York State Speech/Language and Hearing Association. She began working with the association early in her career, and co-chaired one of their annual conventions.
“The work that they do really supports individuals with communication and hearing disorders. And they do that through advocacy and staff development,” Abruzzo said.
