Beloved principal closes out 17-year chapter

Shaping young minds is a crucial responsibility for an educator. For Dr. Peter Osroff, it is something he has done for the past 34 years, with the latter half of that time spent as the principal of Garden City Middle School. It’s a role he’ll be stepping away from, having filed his retirement papers at the same time as his wife Eileen, who is a teacher over in the Jericho School District. While Osroff admits he could have gone on for a couple of more years, it’s a pact he wanted to honor that he made with his spouse of 33 years.
“My wife and I met when we first started teaching our first semester in the same school—John Adams High School in Ozone Park, Queens,” he explained. “So we always said that we started teaching together and we’d retire at the same time. So this was the year that my wife decided that she wanted to retire, so this was the year. Her last day was two days ago. You start together, you end together.”

That said, Osroff is walking away from a career he’s cherished, despite coming to that decision having originally wanting to go down a criminal justice path. The Sheepshead Bay native went so far as to get his bachelors and masters degrees in criminal justice at John Jay College and was poised to complete the coursework to receive his doctorate at the same school when he was drawn into being an educator in his mid-20s.

“I sort of fell into [being a teacher] almost by accident. I was riding the subway and there was a sign posted that said New York City was looking for teachers. So I’d been on different lists for police and corrections knowing that I wanted to go into helping professions. I didn’t really think about teaching and I was waiting to be called up on those other lists while I was working as an adjunct and fellow at John Jay,” he recalled. “I started teaching and I found that I loved it more than my originally planned career. There was no turning back. I went back to school. All my old degrees fell by the wayside and I spent many more years learning, but I love working with kids, so that’s where I went from there. My family couldn’t understand how I spent so many years preparing for this original career and they thought I was nuts. I was 25 years old and told them I found something I loved more. I didn’t care how many more years it took me. I had to go back to school and that’s what I did. I went back to school and worked at the same time.”

Osroff spent a decade teaching social studies at John Adams and Martin Van Buren high schools in Ozone Park and Queens Village, respectively, before accepting a position as an administrative assistant in the Syosset School District. After accepting a position as a human resources coordinator in the Central Office, he quickly realized his passion was in working more closely with students. A stint as an assistant principal at Jericho High School quickly followed before he fell into the same role at the middle school in the same position. Osroff immediately knew he’d found his true calling.
“I was an untenured assistant high school principal and was asked if I could do it. You’re untenured, so you never say no,” he said. “Even though I’d never worked in a middle school, I shifted over. Much to my surprise, I really loved it. I love working with that age group. I decided at that time this was something I really wanted to do. I stayed with the middle school and after that, there was no turning back. Next thing I knew, I became a principal at Garden City Middle School.”

Osroff really hit his stride as the principal of the Garden City Middle School. Always quick to credit his staff and faculty, the Mineola resident’s proudest team accomplishments were bringing more significantly disabled children back into their neighborhood schools. The school also received recognition for co-teaching programs called teaming and special education programs that earned Blue Ribbon honors. The middle school also landed on state and national lists of Schools to Watch.
“All of those things demonstrated our commitment to not only academics, but also taking care of the emotional needs of kids,” Osroff proudly pointed out.

Garden City School District Superintendent Dr. Kusum Sinha was also quick to herald the important difference Osroff made during his tenure helming Garden City Middle School.
“Dr. Osroff was instrumental in transitioning our school from a junior high school model to a true middle school philosophy and structure,” she said. “In addition, under his leadership, the middle school was designated as a National Blue Ribbon for High Performing School.”
While Osroff’s immediate plans involve him and his wife traveling and eventually assessing which volunteering opportunities they’d like to pursue, he’s most proud of the difference he’s made for the thousands of students he’s been a steward to over the years. Particularly children who he’s seen blossom over time.

“I think the greatest challenges were helping kids be successful who are having trouble. It’s oftentimes the most satisfying part of our job—when we’re able to be successful with the kids having difficulties, where we’re really able to make a difference and help them to be successful,” he said. “What I find really exciting is when you see them come into the middle school and they’re having difficulties and we see them several years later and they’re graduating from high school, headed off to college and they’re doing so well.”