I would like to take this time to introduce myself to the Wantagh Community and announce my candidacy for a seat on the Board of Education. My name is Don Lang and I have resided in Wantagh for the past nine years along with my wife, Meaghan, and our five wonderful children. Our oldest daughter is a seventh grader in the middle school, three of our children attends Wantagh Elementary School, and I am happy to say that we also just had a new baby. We originally chose to purchase a home in Wantagh because of the school system’s impeccable reputation. We have not been disappointed – in our years here, we have found ourselves in a community grounded in family values with a strong dedication to raising children.
I am running for the Board because I know I can contribute more to this community as a School Board Trustee. Because I have worked in education for nearly 20 years, I have considerable experience working with families, children and educators in our rapidly changing society. I began my career as an Athletic Director and Assistant Principal at Sewanhaka schools and presently I work as a school administrator in one of the most highly regarded and progressive school districts on Long Island, the North Shore Schools, where I hold the position of Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Health. In this district, I am guided by some of the most well respected and highly esteemed leaders in the world of education. My current position has provided me experience in hiring, evaluating and mentoring teachers and staff by utilizing the most innovate evaluation systems. I am also responsible for handling, creating and maintaining a million dollar budget that successfully meets the needs of five schools. Additionally, I work very closely with the teachers union in order to maintain strong relationships with teachers and staff to reach the common goal of providing the highest quality of education to our students at the most reasonable cost possible.
I would like to bring this experience to the students of Wantagh and provide our Board with a new perspective in education. It is my goal to function as an advocate for our residents in order to improve the overall quality of life here in our community. By utilizing my knowledge of child development and sound educational practice, I plan to make decisions as a board member that has proven effective. With the current trends and changes in education, it is imperative to choose practice, philosophy and procedure that have been successfully utilized in past practice in order to create a program that is efficiently able to guide teachers and administrators through the Common Core, state testing and APPR.
In addition to my responsibilities as Director of Athletics, I also coordinate all of Nassau County Baseball and serve as the Chairman for the Wellness Committee in my district. I earned a BA in Criminal Justice from Wagner College, a MA in Physical Education from Adelphi University and a School Administration degree from CW Post. These experiences, along with the lessons I learned from being a Dad, enable me to understand what the best possible educational environment should be for the children of this district. As a board member, I would seek to provide an environment that embraces and promotes creativity, innovation, and critical thinking, but most importantly fosters a lifelong love of learning in every child.
I look forward to meeting the members of the Wantagh community at Meet the Candidates Night on May 13th to share with you more of the ways I hope to continue to provide the impeccable education that our children deserve.
