The Long Island Alternative Education Association held its first annual conference on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Roslyn High School. Teachers and administrators from 18 school districts in Nassau and Suffolk, and others from as far as Albany, were represented at the conference, which provided education, networking, and support and for professionals involved in alternative education. The day-long program featured speakers from all over the United States.
LIAEA was especially pleased to welcome Dr. Robert Eichorn, president of the National Alternative Education Association and principal of New Directions Alternative Program in Manassas, Virginia. Other notable speakers were Christian Moore, founder of Why Try? Resilience Training, and Gregory Singer of Poeartistry, which uses the performance arts to promote self-esteem through self-definition.
LIAEA was founded in 2012 by educators from four Nassau County school districts, including Roslyn’s Kerri Jannotte-Hinkley, who is the lead teacher at the Roslyn Hilltop Academy on the Roslyn High School campus. LIAEA’s members are educators responsible for providing education programs in alternative environments on Long Island and other parts of New York. As alternative education continues to gain the attention of school districts across the country, Long Island school districts are also actively seeking to share information and best practices in alternative education.
