School Leadership

Since its inception, Maspeth High School's leadership philosophy has been firmly grounded in a distributive leadership model. In an effort to ensure that the voices of all stakeholders of the school community are heard and represented, the school has developed numerous committees and teams to ensure the success of all students. Ingrained in the school culture is the belief that all members of the community are responsible for the achievement of students and that, as a team, we are most effective in advancing our school vision of creating life-long learners.

 

The manifestation of the distributive leadership model found at our school is most evident through the creation of teacher teams and quasi-administrative roles for teachers. Teachers are elected to grade level leader and department leader positions by teams of their peers. In addition to these roles, teachers are appointed by our administrators to serve as deans, testing coordinators, coordinators of student activities, programmers, and committee chairs. Teacher leaders meet once a month with school administrators to ensure alignment of the school's vision, measure the progress of shared goals and participate in a forum for school improvement.

 

In addition to the numerous contributions of teachers to the development of the school, student voice has been essential in the school's decision making. Our student body has governed the formation of over 40 clubs and 27 Public School Athletic League (PSAL) sanctioned sports. Student Government, which advocated for and was granted equal representation on the School Leadership Team (SLT) -- New York City High Schools are only required to admit two student representatives to the SLT, our school currently has five student members -- is directly responsible for the addition of a gender-neutral restroom in our school, and has petitioned the PSAL to provide gender-balanced sports programs. Students continue to advocate for projects -- such as upgrades to our auditorium and dance studio -- that will benefit future generations of Maspeth High School students.

 

The distribution of responsibilities among the staff and students creates an environment in which all stakeholders feel invested in the success of our school. From Maspeth High School's foundation of shared leadership and accountability, students, families, and staff have collectively built a thriving school that provides all students with the opportunity to become leaders in their chosen fields.