2022 HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our readers
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For BrEAKING
NEWS
HERALD 2021
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YEAR IN REVIEW
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FREEPORT
By Reine Bethany
DECEMBER 30, 2021 - JANuARY 5, 2022
VOl. 87 NO. 1
‘A phenomenal educator’
rbethany@liherald.com
D Courtesy U.S. Dept. of Justice xx/Herald
xxFreeporter was arrested for taking A part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.Page 0
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Brookside Avenue was renamed for xx Ernest Kight Jr.
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Dorothy Sellers celebrated with xx
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anielle Colucci, principal of the Woodward Children’s Center, is a stellar educator of special-needs students. She continually updates Woodward’s technology and methodology, informs and inspires her staff, and deepens her connections with the students and their families. In honor of her dedication to the school and the young people it serves, the Herald is proud to name Colucci its 2021 Person of the Year. “These kids have a special place in my heart,” Colucci said in a 2018 Herald story about Woodward, which has educated children with exceptional difficulties since the early 1950s. “I think it is a challenging group to work with, but when you reach them and you have success, it’s a good feeling.” Success, as Woodward defines it, means helping students develop until they can go on to careers and higher-level training. The children accepted to Woodward, however, often have formidable barriers to overcome. “These are students with special needs,” said Executive Director Greg Ingino, who has been with the school since he began as a special ed. teacher there 42 years ago. “Some are on the autism spectrum. Others suffer emotional disturbance or have learning disabilities. Some have experienced traumatic occurrences.” Colucci was hired at Woodward as a reading teacher in 2006, but has served as principal for the past decade. Ingino considers her an indispensable teammate. “Danielle is the great innovator,” he said. “She always raises the bar, always has a new idea
HERALD PERSON OF THE YEAR
s ‘
Danielle ColuCCi he’s the great innovator.’ GReG inGino
Woodward Executive Director
or a new view on issues, and we work great as a team. She has a vast amount of expertise, and if there’s
ever something that she doesn’t know, she finds the answer.” When Ingino and Colucci both switched from teaching to administration in 2010, the school was in rough financial shape, with about 50 students. Ingino knew he could turn its business practices around, but he credits Colucci with updating the school’s technology and educational methods. “Eleven years ago, it was like a time warp here — we were back in the ’80s,” Ingino said. “Danielle brought in BOCES on a couple of projects. They gave us grants where we were able to bring in smar tboards, iPads, and really revamp the whole academic program. She masterminded that, and got us back with all the proper standards and academics to bring us up to par with the school districts.” Between Ingino’s dedicated business expertise and Colucci’s inventive modernizing, the school regained its full capacity of 80 students. But Colucci’s deepening familiarity with her students made it clear to her that many had suffered genuine trauma. She responded in her typical way: with research followed by action. In September 2019, after two years of training for all of Woodward’s teachers and administrators, the school received Trauma and Resilience Certification from Starr Commonwealth, an organization dedicated to building resilience and healing trauma in young people. “Our students nowadays have so Continued on page 3 Courtesy Woodward Children’s Center
Danielle Colucci has been the principal of the Woodward Children’s Center for a decade.