Glen Cove Honors Former Superintendent Florence Andresen

Glen Cove City School District’s Board of Education, administration, Glen Cove Mayor Reginald Spinello and community members gathered to honor former district Superintendent and educator Florence Andresen during a dedication on Nov. 5 at Glen Cove High School.

As part of the celebration, Campus Drive, the roadway that runs in front of the high school, was renamed “Florence Andresen Way.” Ms. Andresen taught English at Glen Cove High School for seven years, before advancing up the administrative ladder. After serving in a series of leadership roles, including dean and principal of Glen Cove High School, she was named superintendent of the district. Ms. Andresen’s appointment as superintendent in 1986 made her one of the first female superintendents of a K-12 district in New York State.

Board of Education President Amy Franklin welcomed those in attendance and discussed the Board’s motivation for honoring the former district educator.

“Ms. Andresen is an inspiration to us all,” Franklin said. “She is an amazing role model for young women and an educational trailblazer. As one of the first female superintendents in New York, she paved the way for others to follow. During her 34-year career in our district she had a positive impact on an entire generation of Glen Covers.”

Ms. Andresen is a graduate of Skidmore College and was the lone female student in Hofstra University’s graduate program in school administration in 1959.

Respected by students, parents, teachers and her fellow administrators, Ms. Andresen received numerous awards throughout her career, including the 1987 Nassau County Woman of the Year, the Charles F. Kettering Foundation Distinguished Educator Award (1981, 1984 and 1985), Newsday’s Distinguished Educator Award in 1989 and the 1991 Long Island University’s Distinguished Educator of the Year award, which recognized her 10 years there as an adjunct professor of educational administration and leadership. With all of these accolades, her friends and former students all agree that her most treasured honor was being voted “Most Popular Teacher” by high school seniors year in and year out.

Story, Photos courtesy of the Glen Cove City School District:

1. Glen Cove High School’s Student Senate members (l-r): Delegate to the Board Colleen Lynch, Public Relations Angela McCarthy, President Rebecca Tan, Treasurer Amanda Ieraci and Vice President Ryan Greenfield.

2. Glen Cove City School District’s Board of Education, administration and community recently honored former district superintendent and educator Florence Andresen.