My name is Joseph Maisano, and I am the new Principal of John H. West Elementary School. I wanted to take the time to write this letter to introduce myself to our school community. For those of you that do not know me, I have been fortunate to spend the majority of my career as an educator here in Plainedge. I am entering my 16th year in this wonderful District. In 2004, I was hired as a teacher at Sylvia Packard School and within weeks of beginning my career as a new teacher, I marched alongside hundreds of community members to our brand new Plainedge Middle School.

During my 10 years there, I spent much time as a coach, club advisor, and academic coordinator as well. In the Summer of 2014, I entered administration here as the Assistant Director of Special Education. In this role, I supported teachers, fellow administrators, and most importantly our students and their families from Kindergarten through 12th Grade within the complex world of Special Education. In 2016, I was promoted to the Director position, which I held until my recent appointment as your new Principal. In my time as a Special Education administrator, I had the privilege of working to support struggling learners with a focus on meeting the needs of the individual learner, and this was a truly rewarding experience. I believe that this skill set will serve me well in my new position because as a parent myself, I would want those tasked with supervising the education of my child to look at them as the individual that he or she is.

In addition to the responsibilities of my professional life, I am a proud husband and father of three young children, my oldest is entering the 1st grade. I look forward to experiencing the upcoming years as an elementary parent alongside all of you.

I have had the pleasure of working with the John H. West staff and many of their families over the past 5 years in my former department, and I look forward to working even closer with the entire community in this new capacity. I am honored to have been chosen as the successor to a wonderful principal who spent many years servicing the West community. As you know, the staff at John H. West is a group of extremely passionate and dedicated individuals who I am very excited and privileged to lead into the future. We will continue to work with our families, following the mission of the District, to support each and every student with innovating and rigorous academics and a comprehensive approach that considers the whole child. John H. West will continue to maintain high standards for all students while focusing on the social-emotional well-being of our students. Our goal is to work alongside our families to help mold young individuals into kind, compassionate, respectful, hard-working, and motivated, contributing members of society. I truly believe that the elementary years are the foundation for the future, so the responsibility that we have as elementary educators is an important one, and I assure you that we do not take that responsibility lightly. These years are the formative ones, so my goal as the building leader is to create a safe, nurturing, and enriching environment for your children; one in which they feel cared for and inspired to be unique and to take risks.

I look forward to seeing you around our school, as well as the numerous events throughout the District. Plainedge has been my home away from home for the better portion of my adult life, so I look forward to continuing that wonderful relationship with a new streamlined focus and invigorating enthusiasm, as I become a member of your John H. West community.

With Sincerity and Elation,
Joseph A. Maisano