Take that, Sandy
Storm can’t stop Rockaways principal — or his kids
WHEN HURRICANE Sandy wrecked the Scholars’ Academy in Rockaway Beach, principal Brian O’Connell did whatever it took to keep his school alive.
For his dedication — waking up before dawn and chaperoning hundreds of weary students to cramped, temporary classrooms in far-away neighborhoods — he was nominated for a Hometown Heroes in Education award.
After eight months of ceaseless toil and relentless heartbreak, O’Connell has rebuilt the school and his home, which sits just three stoplights away from the Academy and was also nearly destroyed in the deadly superstorm.
And amazingly, O’Connell’s school not only survived the ordeal — but the incredibly resilient students there performed better this year than ever.
“Our staffers and kids are real heroes. It’s amazing how well they bounced back,” said O’Connell, 46, who has worked in city schools for 22 years and founded the Scholars’ Academy in 2005.
The A-rated school serves grades 6-12 and has posted impressive graduation rates and test scores for years, making it an unusual success story in a neighborhood that’s better known for struggling classrooms.
But for the school year that just ended Wednesday, O’Connell reports that all 96 of his seniors graduated and met state standards for college readiness.
The Academy’s high school students also posted better scores on every Regents exam compared to last year, and members of the graduating class landed more than $6.3 million in scholarships to continue their educations in college.
Not bad for kids coming from a school that was flooded with four feet of water by a storm that left more than 60% of the students and 30% of the staff homeless.
For more than four months, O’Connell was also displaced, living with his wife and two young children in a tiny Bay Ridge hotel room.
But he drove out to Scholars’ Academy each day to ride the bus with his students to their temporary classrooms on loan from schools in East New York, Brooklyn. O’Connell, his staff and students moved back into their school on Jan. 11 and finished out the term in amazing form.
“It was the worst year of my life and the best year,” O’Connell said. “In the end, we have a renewed closeness and appreciation for each other.”