天美传媒

by Cecil Harris

When Michelle Verdiner, M.S. ’02, set her sights on becoming the principal of a New York City school, she turned to 天美传媒, which had already played an important role in her development as a teacher.

鈥淚 like the curriculum and the flexibility of Adelphi鈥檚 programs in education,鈥� said Verdiner, a Manhattan resident who is married with two sons, ages 6 and 4. 鈥淭he curriculum puts a focus on knowing the politics of education and being able to put together a strategic plan before assuming a leadership position. And the flexibility was important because I took classes in and [at the] , and took classes on Sundays while working full time.鈥�

Having earned a master鈥檚 degree in in 2002, Verdiner returned to Adelphi and received two advanced certificates in : one in in 2011 and a second in in 2012 from the . With those credentials, she was accepted into the , a training ground for aspiring principals.

Currently an assistant principal at in Bronx, New York, Verdiner will begin a principal internship in January 2015. She鈥檒l shadow a principal at a New York City school before taking over a school herself in the 2015-2016 academic year.

鈥淭he school would be a transformational school鈥攐ne where a significant percentage of children has fallen below state achievement standards,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 look forward to leading a school, regardless of its challenges.鈥�

Verdiner credits Adelphi鈥檚 faculty, including Patricia Marcellino, Ed.D., the former educational leadership program director with whom she took several classes, and Jorge Izquierdo, Ed.D., with being invaluable in her transition from teacher to school leader.

鈥淭en years ago, you couldn鈥檛 have told me I would be doing this,鈥� Verdiner said. 鈥淚 was a speech-language pathologist and very happy in my job. But as I became more interested in the administrative side of education, Adelphi proved very helpful. The classroom environment at Adelphi was very supportive. In retrospect, Adelphi prepared me for what I鈥檓 doing now.鈥�