New Springs Superintendent
For the first time in 16 years, Debra Winter, the new superintendent of the Springs School District, will turn left on Route 27 to get to work.
Since 2001, when she moved to Quogue, she has been the assistant superintendent for student and community services at the Longwood Central School District, in Middle Island. The district encompasses 52 square miles, 11 towns, and seven school sites, befitting her somewhat unusual title.
Ms. Winter prevailed after a closed door, four-month search, in which she did not meet with the staff or community members. She will replace the school’s interim superintendent, John J. Finello, on July 1, but has been spotted at recent school functions, including the April 21 World’s Fair, which she found “an inspiring celebration of diversity.”
Ms. Winter’s résumé includes a background in special education, which is not always associated with a superintendent’s career, although Richard Burns, the East Hampton superintendent, also began as a special education teacher.
“My special education background made me appreciate that everyone is different,” she said during a recent interview. “I believe in a ‘one child at a time’ approach. I’ve been trained to find ways around problems, to troubleshoot, to find solutions for every struggling student.”
Ms. Winter’s enthusiasm was apparent during her introduction at a school board meeting last week.
“I am excited to get to know the students. I will listen. I will learn. I will continue to support. I will raise expectations. I will always be respectful. I look forward to making Springs my new family,” she told those at the meeting.
Ms. Winter said she had learned the importance of family firsthand when her husband died in 1997 and their son was a year and a half old. At the time, she was the director of pupil personnel services of the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District, although she moved to the same position at the Jericho School District two weeks after her husband’s death.
In 2001, Ms. Winter and her second husband, Joseph Vasso, and her son moved to Quogue. Mr. Vasso is retired, after 37 years as an art teacher. Her son, now 21, is about to graduate from college. He had co-founded the robotics program at Westhampton Beach High School, with which he still very involved.
Robotics has a role in Ms. Winter’s extracurricular world as well. She has been a volunteer with the School Business Partnership of Long Island, which helps students pursue careers in technology, engineering, and science. She will step down from the organization to dedicate more time to the Springs community, she said.
“One program I will absolutely bring to Springs is Blessings in a Backpack; we started it in Longwood,” she said. Ms. Winter described the program, which each weekend sends 50 backpacks full of food to families in need. “It is even more necessary in Springs, where we don’t have a school cafeteria.”
Looking ahead, Ms. Winter said, “I’m going to surround myself by experts; smart people who will one day be superintendents themselves. Imagine what we can accomplish if we all remember who we are here to serve — the students.”
Any extra advice, she hopes, will come from a book now on her bedside table: “Moving into the Superintendency: How to Succeed in Making the Transition.”
While Mr. Finello was often criticized for not being on hand, Ms. Winter said she will be a familiar face in the hallways and entirely transparent about her work.
“My door will always be open,” she promised. “To staff, to parents and, of course, to the students.”