Principal: Minetto Elementary ‘A True Community Of Learners’

MINETTO – Set to begin her first year as the principal of Minetto Elementary School, Jennifer Sullivan said she wants every student and family walking through the doors to know they’re entering a “true community of learners” who are connected to, and responsible for, one another.

“Every child can learn in a different way on a different day,” Sullivan said. “Every student is different and unique but all of them want to learn and we just have to figure out how to reach them and help them be their best.”

A native of Clay, Sullivan was appointed to lead Minetto Elementary School in July after previously serving with the North Syracuse Central School District.

Sullivan and her team at Minetto have been busy preparing for her inaugural year, including holding a meet-and-greet with students and parents in August.

“Every conversation and every decision with any teacher or teaching assistant has been centered on our students and knowing that the kids come first and putting what they need comes first and Minetto is the home for that,” Sullivan said.

Coming from a family of educators – her father was a math teacher at Syracuse’s Nottingham High School for more than three decades – helped give Sullivan the “passion and inspiration” to pursue a career working with children.

“I loved being with students and planning lessons and trying to figure out how I was going to teach these concepts to students,” Sullivan said of her time as a teacher, adding that working in inclusion classrooms gave her a deep respect for the need to “make lessons suitable for all the learners in a classroom.”

This year, Minetto will be home to a groundbreaking and innovative new program known as Math and Movement, after the Oswego City School District was selected by the National Math Foundation to be the first district in the nation implement the curriculum that combines physical activity and mathematical concepts.

Sullivan said with the addition of new learning opportunities and several new teachers, there is “a lot of excitement and energy in the air” for the first day of school of September 6.

“Every person here is passionate and deeply committed to the students and families,” Sullivan said. “I want parents to know any time they want to come to me with an issue, I want to meet with them, and help them make sure their student is the most successful they can be.”

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