At their meeting held on Tuesday, October 13th, the Board of Education accepted the resignation of Superintendent Ellen Semel for the purpose of retirement, effective June 30, 2021.

Board of Education President Philip Dineen shared the following statement at the meeting:

On behalf of all of us on the Board and in the Islip school community, I want to thank Dr. Semel for the enormous contributions she has made over the past 15 years. Throughout her tenure, Dr. Semel has shown a true dedication and commitment to the success of our students, school district, and community.

Dr. Semel, with the support of our outstanding administration and staff, has raised the level of student success, created a stronger partnership with our parents and community, and put into place the plans to preserve our community's investment in our school district. We offer her our best wishes as she prepares to embark on this exciting next chapter in her life.

The Board of Education will be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the next steps to search for a new superintendent of schools. We will of course provide more detail on that process as it unfolds. However, as I am sure Dr. Semel will agree, our focus now will remain on the task of the continued reopening of our schools and the health and safety of our students and staff.