Baldwin Begins School Year With New Superintendent

BALDWIN, NY — Anthony Mignella is beginning his first tenure as superintendent of schools for the Baldwin Union Free School District. But Mignella, who has a quarter-century of experience as an educator, is a familiar face in the district.

The promotion comes after serving for nine years as assistant superintendent for instruction, a position in which he ran the curriculum and technology for the district.

"I feel honored to be the next superintendent in Baldwin," Mingella told Patch. "I'm truly grateful that the Board has the confidence in me to lead the district into the future."

Ahead of the first day of classes on Sept. 2, Mignella already started having conversations with parents and said he's excited to work with teachers and the entire staff regularly.

He held chats with PTA members about the "hopes, dreams and aspirations for their children," he said.

It's a continuing theme of the district, as their "Baldwin 2035" initiative prepares students for graduation in 10 years as the technology landscape drastically changes.

"We're really going to go deep into what we're calling our future-ready competencies," Mignella said. "Now with AI, with the Internet, a lot of content is easily accessible, but you need to think critically. You need to know how to use that information. You need to communicate with others extremely well. These skills are of the utmost importance."

The Baldwin district is also preparing students for careers in healthcare with its medical academy class.

"We just recently purchased these medical mannequins, which are totally interactive," he said. "Students will be able to learn how to diagnose patients [and] how to treat patients when they present certain medical complications. We're really trying to bring to life learning."

The district proudly boasts a 98-percent graduation rate and consistently ranks among the top high schools in U.S. News & World Report. However, Mignella said that number includes students with serious cognitive disabilities, who earn a special credential rather than a diploma.

"If you take that population out, 100 percent of our high school students graduated in June," he said.

Mignella said praise goes to the teachers and other staffers, including principals and guidance counselors, for connecting with their students.

"The teachers share a philosophy [that] all students can be successful. All students should be challenged," Mignella said.

He said it's so important to have students motivated and engaged to excel.

"They're doing a lot of that hard work, meeting those expectations," he said of the district's students.