R.O.B.S. - Announcements May 2018

Ross Herzog
   His first job as a kid was as a caddy. He was 14. He hated math, loved English and French, but not so much Social Studies. His favorite season was Fall. His favorite foods were roast beef and lamb. He remembers the aroma of cabbage (NOT his favorite) boiling on the stove as he was growing up, and he hated the taste of cocoanut and still does. His mother was an Irish cook. Enough said.
   He attended Our Lady of Victory in Floral Park, grades 1-6, moved to Huntington and attended St. Patrick’s, grades 7-8, went on to St. Dominic’s in Oyster Bay (four years), worked for one year in his father’s trade (plumbing and heating) but “didn’t like working outdoors in the cold,” and attended St. John’s University on a five year plan. He began teaching in 1964, immediately after graduation.
    Ross earned his Masters Degree in English Education from Hofstra University and administrative certifications at American University, NYU, and C.W. Post. In late 1970, he was one of the last Brentwood teachers to receive a full year paid sabbatical leave. He was accepted to Long Island University in Greenvale for their graduate degree in Theater Arts, completed 36 credits, including a performance production, but did not complete the thesis because he had been appointed Department Chair in English at Brentwood High School and could not do both.
    Ross arrived in Brentwood in the summer of 1964. He did not have teaching certification, student teaching experience, or a job. He saw an ad that they were hiring. Charlie Swensen, Assistant Principal, said they had no openings at North Jr. but called Mike DeBellis at South Jr., and there he was hired. There were no other interviews. He said, “I had a good pulse, so they took a chance on me.” “The staff in Brentwood were wonderful, but the turnover was tremendous. Even so, everybody was there to help you.” New people were coming in all the time, and they were all in the same situation. Pete DeMento was also at South Jr. and became a mentor to many future administrators. Ross spoke of all he owed Brentwood for the education, experience, and awareness he had received from the amazing, collegial staff in the District.
    He began at South Jr. and taught Eighth and Ninth Grade English for four years. He transferred to the High School and remained there for 20 years. Of that time, 16 years were devoted to teaching English to Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Graders and for eight of those years he served as the English Department Head. For his last four years at the High School he served as an Assistant Principal in the Sonderling Building. He then went on to North Jr. for two years as one of its Assistant Principals, working with Mark Nizewitz and Jose Suarez. He was appointed the Principal of East Middle School in 1990 where he spent his last twelve years in Brentwood, retiring in 2002.
   At South Jr., Ross was advisor to the Student Council, the Yearbook, and the Drama Club. He became a representative building delegate to the BTA. He never had training in theater work prior to his teaching experience. “It was just something that happened. They needed an advisor, so I volunteered,” he said. He worked with a fellow English teacher at South, Ken Moss, who had a lot of background in the arts and a passion for theater. They started doing plays together. When Ross moved to the High School, he continued with that interest and did many of the “senior” plays and, after Maury Burns retired, three of the High School Musicals. He also advised several yearbooks along with Rich Edwards and was involved with the Student Council.    His deepest affection was reserved for students with whom he worked in those drama groups, due to the closeness of their relationships. He spoke of a series of summer workshops where he, Frank Carnese and Jeff Wolfe, under the NDEA (National Defense Education Act) and funded through Arts and Education, provided creative workshops, improvisational theater, and fencing. They took their students each week into NYC to see Broadway and off-Broadway shows, something many of them had never done before. “It was a joy,” he said. “They loved doing it and they learned so much from that experience. They needed this exposure because they were so very innocent and naïve.” He spoke of taking students to see a production of The Fantastics at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in the Village where they had 80 of the 125 seats and came away from it very much the wiser for having gone. To this day, he keeps in contact with many of these students, especially those with whom he worked in the 70’s.
When he was appointed English Department Head he joined the Brentwood Principals and Supervisors Organization (BPSO) and worked on several committees including Professional Growth, Negotiations (along with Tom O’Brien), and served two years as Vice President.
    Throughout our interview, Ross shared that he loved working in Brentwood and particularly loved working with young people. His first year here, he said, was full of angst. He had so much to learn, but year two was better. Mike DeBellis, his mentor principal, encouraged him. “Be patient,” he said. “Most teachers don’t hit their stride until year four.” But he shared that he always felt he was destined to be a school administrator. He relished the opportunity to hire quality teachers and to help them develop. And the toughest decisions he had to make as an administrator were to let someone go. He’d had a student teacher at South Jr. whom he had to tell that he couldn’t recommend her for certification. He fretted over that decision, but when he met her some years later, he remembers how she thanked him. Ross said, “When you’re not happy, it shows.” In her case, she never belonged in a classroom, she knew it, and he gave her the opportunity to find something else she enjoyed more.    June 30th, 2002 was his last professional working day. Ross was 38 years in Brentwood. He taught day school, summer school, night school and did home teaching. He said he loved every part of it. He earned $5800 his first year. “It certainly wasn’t for the money, but the benefits, especially the psychological ones, were well worth it.” At the end of his career, he still had unfinished business, but he knew it was time to leave. He retired because all the stars for him and his family came together and he knew it was time to move on. He misses the people but not everything that came with his multiple positions. He wasn’t finished and spoke of goals that remained unfulfilled at the end. He referred to challenges faced by Brentwood students of today, and he paid great respect to the teachers who committed their professional lives to their students and unflagging support of one another. “That is the unique character of Brentwood.”

You can also view any of the past interviews by visiting History Project Interview Archives