There are many components to running a top school: curriculum, student services, transportation, security, athletics, and finance, to name just a few. Another key element is community, which is why Hampton Bays School District celebrates and welcomes its local community. School leaders did just that on Thursday, May 10, by inviting members of the Hampton Bays and East End communities to its eighth annual Community Summit for a State of the Schools report.

“You know that public education holds a lot of promise in Hampton Bays,” District Superintendent Lars Clemensen said to the gathering of approximately 60 community leaders before introducing various members of the Hampton Bays educational team, including Elementary School Principal Marc Meyer, Middle School Principal Dennis Schug, High School Principal Christopher Richardt, Assistant Superintendents Denise Sullivan and Mark Pagano, Athletic Director Drew Walker, School Safety and Transportation Director John Moran, and School Business Administrator Larry Luce. Each of the administrators gave a brief speech about the status of their programs.

During the meeting, New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. presented Mr. Clemensen with a proclamation for the Middle School being named a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally, several other community members weighed in on the terrific job being done by Mr. Clemensen and the Hampton Bays administration.

Those in attendance included former Hampton Bays Board of Education members George Leeman and Lisa Fotopoulos, current board members Dorothy Capuano and Doug Oakland, Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, and community members representing the Hampton Bays Civic Association and Hampton Bays Chamber of Commerce, among others.