Lorna Lewis appointed academic monitor of Wyandanch school district
Lorna R. Lewis has been named academic monitor for the Wyandanch school district. Credit: Hans Pennink
The state education commissioner has appointed a veteran educator to help raise student achievement in the Wyandanch district, a school system that has persistently lagged in performance among Long Island schools.
Commissioner Betty Rosa on Tuesday chose Lorna Lewis, a retired superintendent with nearly five decades of experience in education, to serve as Wyandanch's academic monitor. Her tenure begins Monday.
Creating Lewis’ role will increase academic oversight, the state Education Department said. The district is now required to report and take public comment on student performance.
Lewis said she sees her role as supporting the superintendent and board members to boost achievement.
“Every student deserves a first-class education,” she said in an interview Wednesday. “I want to make sure that I can support the district in getting to that.”
Districts officials said they look forward to benefiting from Lewis’ decades of experience.
Lewis, of Freeport, began her career as a science teacher and went on to become superintendent of the East Williston, Plainview-Old Bethpage and Malverne districts. She had served as president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents and retired last year.
“Dr. Lewis will work collaboratively with District leadership and the Board of Education to support our continued efforts to strengthen academic programs and improve outcomes for all students,” Superintendent Erik Wright said in a letter sent to families Tuesday.
“We welcome the opportunity to build upon the important progress already taking place throughout our schools,” he continued.
Lewis said she will follow the lead of Albert Chase, who has been Wyandanch’s fiscal monitor since 2020.
Low student achievement cited
Only two districts on Long Island have state-appointed monitors. The other is Hempstead, where William Johnson has served as both academic and fiscal monitor since 2020.
State legislators created the monitor positions following years of financial mismanagement and poor graduation rates. New legislation enacted as part of the 2026-27 state budget authorized the commissioner to appoint an academic monitor for Wyandanch.
Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood), who advanced the legislation, said Wednesday that Wyandanch has improved its fiscal standing but student achievement remains low.
“They have made real progress developing balanced budgets [and] improving their bond rating,” she said. “But they still struggle with academic needs, which is why I felt it was necessary for an academic monitor to work alongside with the fiscal monitor.”
Martinez said the state budget allocated $225,000 for the two monitors for the coming school year.
Martinez, a former schoolteacher, praised Lewis’ expertise and said she believes the educator will have “a profound impact” on the district.
Wyandanch for years has underperformed in graduation rates and other academic benchmarks. The Suffolk district serves about 2,300 students and is considered among the Island's poorest in terms of taxable income and property.
In 2024-25, only one-fourth of Wyandanch’s students in grades three through eight scored proficient in English compared to the state average of 53%, according to the most recent state data. Students also struggled with math. Proficiency rates among grades three through seven hovered from 21% to 35%, far below the state average.
In the same academic year, Wyandanch had the lowest graduation rates of all Long Island districts, with 64% of its students graduating by August of last year. By comparison, the state average was 85%; Long Island’s average was nearly 92%.
In recent years, Wyandanch has also had turnover in leadership.
The district has had three superintendents in the past three years, after former Superintendent Gina Talbert left in 2023. Wright took over the role in June 2025.
In February, the district placed a beloved high school principal on leave after auditors found he improperly used money for a student club.
Principal Paul Sibblies remains on leave, according to the district. Officials did not respond to a question as to whether he would return for the coming school year, which begins Sept. 3 for Wyandanch.
In 2024, investigators found administrators changed the grades of dozens of middle school students who participated in a credit recovery program that was later deemed to not have complied with state standards. The middle school principal later resigned due to a non-school related violation.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
