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New Dean At Massapequa’s Berner Is A Familiar Face

Photo courtesy of the Massapequa School District

Kristen Meoli, a speech therapist in the Massapequa School District for the past seven years, has been named dean of students at Berner Middle School.

Ms. Meoli has worked as a speech-language pathologist at six of Massapequa’s nine schools, including Massapequa High School’s main and Ames campuses, the middle school, and East Lake, Lockhart and Unqua elementary schools. For three years, she served as co-adviser of Berner’s student council and also worked with the Challenger sports program.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology from LIU C.W. Post, a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Adelphi University and an educational leadership certificate from Stony Brook University. Ms. Meoli worked as an administrative intern with Massapequa’s extended school year program from 2019 to 2021, and was a member of Berner’s Shared-Decision Making Committee.

In her new role as one of Berner’s two dean of students, Ms. Meoli has been working primarily with sixth graders to support their transition to middle school, helping them feel comfortable in their new environment and encouraging them to get involved. She strives to be “present and visible” so students know she is a resource for them and available when they need someone to talk to about a problem or concern, or to share a success.

“My main priorities are to foster open lines of communication between school and home, to utilize my special education and behavioral management experience to support all of our students, and provide social-emotional learning opportunities when working with students during disciplinary events,” Ms. Meoli said.

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