Pia Sanchez, former assistant principal at Weber Middle School, has started in her new role as principal at South Salem Elementary School. Sanchez has spent her career in education in the Port Washington School District. She was assistant principal at Weber since 2011. In that role, she oversaw the evaluation of teachers using the Danielson Rubric, as well as the rollout of new Common Core Learning Standards in the school, according to the school district. Prior to that she spent eight years as a guidance counselor at Weber. Sanchez is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at Hofstra University. She holds a certificate of advanced study in education from SUNY Stony Brook, a Master of Science in school counseling from Long Island University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Adelphi University.
Sanchez will be replaced as assistant principal at Weber by Jessica Borow Zuckerman. Zuckerman was appointed on Aug. 18 and is no stranger to the district as a former student who graduated from Schreiber in 2001. Zuckerman joins Port Washington from Stephen A. Halsey Junior High School 157 in Queens, where she has worked as the seventh-grade administrative dean and a special education coach since 2013. Prior to that, she worked as a seventh-grade ELA special education and ICT teacher at Halsey. Zuckerman holds a BA in English and psychology from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, a MS in general special education (grades 5 to 9) from CUNY Queens College and an advanced certificate in supervision and administration from Hunter College. She also holds several New York State education certifications.
“We are thrilled that Jessica Zuckerman will be joining the Port Washington team as an administrative leader at Weber,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Mooney. “I am confident that as a former Port Washington student with a wealth of educational experience, she will transition seamlessly into her new position.”
About Sanchez, Dr. Mooney said, “Pia is a great educational leader. We are very excited to have her leading Salem.” A Long Island native, Sanchez lives in Rockville Centre and grew up in Garden City. Before her career in education, Sanchez worked for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “I recruited and trained volunteers, which I found to be very rewarding,” said Sanchez.
At Salem, Sanchez replaces Chris Shields, who was Salem’s principal for 11 years. Shields was the only principal of Salem since it reopened 11 years ago. “I have big shoes to fill,” said Sanchez. Shields became Weber Middle School’s new principal on July 1. “I’m grateful he’s still in the district. We have met and collaborated about both schools,” said Sanchez. “We can both help each other in our new roles. We are a good administrative team.”
Dr. Mooney added, “Pia is very talented and we are pleased to
be able to nurture our talent within this district.”
Sanchez is thrilled to work with a younger population in the Port school district. Sanchez said, “I’m excited to reach the students earlier to help instill the level of learning they will need as they get older. It will be great to have a chance to do early intervention because it is harder to break the cycle with struggling students when they are older. I’m looking forward to helping start students’ careers.”
