Hard Choices to Meet Changing Faces

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MICHAEL NAGLER is unafraid of change. He believes a school district must take risks and push hard to be innovative. It’s a label the Mineola Union Free School District on New York’s Long Island proudly carries under his leadership.

Nagler, who was one of four finalists for the 2020 National Superintendent of the Year, took the top berth of the 2,900-student district 11 years ago as its community was embroiled in a debate over a longstanding but stalled redistricting plan. 

Nagler, who’d previously worked as a principal and deputy superintendent in Mineola, embraced the opportunity to put forward new plans. He hosted meetings to show the community various options. Ultimately, the district closed two schools and reconfigured grade levels at existing schools.

“I’m still here,” Nagler quips with a laugh, an acknowledgment of the job-threatening impact of school-closing decisions. He says the reorganization has resulted in more equitable educational experiences among all students, a particularly important result as Mineola’s population diversifies.

“We have a culture here that it’s OK to make mistakes and try things. My teachers believe that, my administrators believe that,” Nagler says, adding that the staff commits to studying concepts such as growth mindset and new research on brain development to find the best programs for students.

The community engagement he built during redistricting was a turning point, says Christine Napolitano, Mineola’s school board president. “He was the first one who was able to explain a very complicated situation in a very simple way, and when he was able to do that everything changed. He began to change the district in every way imaginable — curriculum, staff, buildings, just the whole direction of where the district was going was overturned.”

Nagler immediately proposed ways to reinvest the cost savings through initiatives such as a one-to-one iPad program, a dual language program, teacher-initiated curricula and new curricula apps that build portfolios of students’ work. One initiative even eliminated report cards and aligned all standards to badges, where students in the early grades show mastery of a concept by earning stickers in a personal book. His ideas are showing up in higher achievement and parent participation.

The newfound savings enabled Nagler to dig into some of Mineola’s neediest areas, including special education and programs for English language learners. The dual language option teaches students for a week at a time in Spanish, then English. It’s so popular, more native English speakers than ELLs are enrolled.

The superintendent is particular about the teachers he hires, searching extensively for native Spanish speakers and building a pipeline system to help promising newcomers earn the certifications they need.

All five Mineola schools are Apple Distinguished Schools, but Nagler notes that technology does not replace effective teaching or a strong curriculum. He advises other district leaders not to purchase new learning technologies unless they are willing to significantly revamp teaching practices.

To share his knowhow, Nagler has posted hundreds of short videos on the Mineola Creative Content channel on YouTube, and he uses Twitter heavily for professional purposes.

As school board president, Napolitano has observed the superintendent will not effect change without investing considerable thought, research and community engagement.

“He is not afraid to look at everything we do to educate kids and turn it inside out,” she says.