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Bridgehampton Welcomes Dr. Mary Kelly

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After a comprehensive search and selection process led by the Bridgehampton School District Board of Education, the Board announced the appointment of veteran educator Dr. Mary Kelly as superintendent of schools. She will take the leadership reins on July 1.

An educator for more than 25 years, Dr. Kelly most recently was the superintendent of schools for the Amityville Union Free School District, a position she has held since 2014. Prior to that, she served for six years as assistant superintendent.

During her tenure in Amityville, her primary focus was to provide educational and organizational leadership for all stakeholders while supervising and evaluating the effectiveness of the instructional program to optimize teaching and learning and improve student achievement. She collaboratively developed and implemented a five-year strategic plan to increase academic opportunities and outcomes for all students, improve school climate and culture, and increase family and community partnerships and engagement.

Dr. Kelly oversaw the implementation of a challenging curriculum and was instrumental in creating and implementing an independent science research program for middle school and high school students and in developing partnerships with Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Northwell Health, Stony Brook University and other regional research organizations to support students' research initiatives. She also implemented the district’s 1:1 Chromebook initiative, Google Classroom and G-Suite applications. Among her financial achievements on behalf of the district were the successful development of operating budgets, contract negotiations for seven bargaining units and the development and implementation of a $70 million bond referendum to improve all school facilities. She also established a curriculum advisory council to provide oversight of the development and review of curricular and instructional initiatives, incorporated research-based best practices to recruit and retain highly qualified employees, including culturally and ethnically diverse candidates, and established a Diversity and Inclusiveness Advisory Council, comprised of representatives from all stakeholder groups.

Prior to her achievements in Amityville, Dr. Kelly was director of assessments, research and instructional support curriculum for the Kings Park Central School District, a role she served in after a stint as assistant principal at Kings Park High School. She was also a social studies teacher at Kings Park High School and taught social studies in the East Meadow School District for six years.

Dr. Kelly is widely published in the educational field and wrote her dissertation on “The Relationship Between School Leaders’ Perceptions of High Involvement Model

Characteristics in Their Organizations and Their Attitudes Towards the Use of the Change Toolkit to Facilitate Organizational Change.” She was the recipient of the William T. Lauder Award for Community Service and Support from the Amityville Historical Society, gave the keynote address at the 2017 Shanti Fund Celebration of Peace and Nonviolence and was named Educator of the Year by the United North Amityville Youth Organization in 2016.

Dr. Kelly, a resident of Kings Park, received a doctorate in educational administration from Dowling College and a professional diploma in educational administration, also from Dowling. She received a Master of Science in education with distinction from Hofstra University, where she also earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science. She holds licenses as a New York State School District Administrator and a New York State School Administrator and Supervisor. She also has a permanent New York State Teaching Certificate for grade 7-12 social studies.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Dr. Kelly to our community,” said Board of Education President Ronald White. “Her appointment is the culmination of an extensive search process and her level of educational skill, experience and knowledge will continue to successfully lead our district into the future and further inspire the lifelong intellectual curiosity of our students.”