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VOL. 35 NO. 19
MAY 2 - 8, 2024
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Staff diversity is a priority in District 24 By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
Courtesy Anthony Capone
Before being named Valley Stream fire chief in April, Anthony Capone served as a lieutenant, captain, and 2nd and 1st assistant fire chief.
Valley Stream Fire Department names Capone its 100th chief By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
Since childhood, Anthony Capone felt destined to storm into burning buildings in firefighter gear. Since he was 15 years old, he has eyed the top spot of Valley Stream fire chief. Last month, Capone, of Engine Company No. 2, accomplished what he has long envisioned: etching his name in village history as the 100th chief of the Valley Stream Volunteer Fire Department. After four years under former Chief Patrick Scanlon, in which Capone served as his 1st assistant chief, the 30-year-old lifelong resident, a Valley Stream South High School
graduate, was sworn in as Scanlon’s successor on April 4. Standing at his side as 1st assistant chief is Michael Colucci, of Engine Company No. 1, and his 2nd assistant chief is Kyle O’Brien, of Truck 1. Firefighting runs in the family, noted Capone, who is the latest in a dynastic line of fire chiefs. “My stepfather was an ex-chief of the fire department,” said Capone.“His brother was an ex-chief and so was their father before them.”
The biggest, the busiest, and the best Respected, charismatic, and knowledgeable, Capone is young and energetic, qualities Continued on pAge 10
Away from his usual desk obligations, Valley Stream District 24 Superintendent Unal Karakas, was on a head-hunting mission in Washington D.C. last month. He chose perhaps the best place in town to find the greatest concentration of welleducated minority teaching candidates: a career fair at Howard University. Fresh from last month’s inperson visit, Karakas believes the trip was a success and a crucial first step in moving the needle to a goal of particular concern to his district: making its nearly all-white teaching force more representative of its racially and ethnically diverse student body. At Valley Stream District 24, the demographic mismatch between students and teachers over the past two decades paints a jarring picture. In 2000, 72 percent of students in Valley Stream District 24, according to state education department data, were white. In just over two decades, that number has dropped to 13 percent. Latino and Hispanic students have replaced white students as the largest demographic cohort,
but only roughly 3 percent of teachers identify as such. What education exper ts describe as disheartening statistical realities seemed to serve as a wake-up call for Karakas, who has pushed the district’s comfort zone in a way that has begun to forge a more direct pipeline for minority teaching candidates. He is literally making this personal. He was at Howard University shaking hands, and fielding people’s questions one by one, face-toface. His presence, at least at that fair, was a rare treat. “Valley Stream 24 was the only school district in the tristate area that was represented there,” said Karakas. Interacting with Howard c a n d i d a t e s, K a r a k a s w a s delighted by the sheer number of them who expressed a strong level of commitment to finding a workplace that values diversity and the impact they as teachers of color can make by representing minority students.
Why do experts care about diverse teachers? While conventional wisdom has often held fast to the notion that a teacher’s credentials and teaching skills matter irrespecContinued on pAge 10