Lauria appointed superintendent of Depew school district

By Alice Gerard

Senior Contributing Writer

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Staff Development and Human Resources Michael Lauria has been appointed superintendent of the Depew Union Free School District, effective Aug. 1, it was reported at the Monday meeting of the Grand Island Central School District Board of Education.

Lauria was unavailable for comment. In a letter to the Board of Education, he said, “It has been one of the greatest honors to serve the Grand Island community during the past fifteen years in various roles, including administrative intern, assistant principal, high school principal, and assistant superintendent. I have learned so much from each of our experiences together and can’t thank the Grand Island community enough for its unwavering support.”

“He and his family are on their way to Italy for a well-needed vacation,” said Grand Island Central School District Superintendent Brian Graham. “We’re very proud of Mike. I am even more proud because I will see him every month at the superintendents’ meetings, held by Erie 1 BOCES. So, I know we’re virtual and live, but maybe we could give a little clap for Mike Lauria. He did say to share his sincere gratitude with the school board, the families, the staff and the community that has supported him along the way.

“He started off as an interim here, an assistant principal here. He went to Silver Creek and was a principal there at the high school. He came back here. He was the high school principal for many years and then he was assistant superintendent. And now, he will be superintendent. So, there’s a lot to be proud of and to celebrate for him and his family.

In other news, according to Graham, “this is the first time – and it could be the first time in history of Grand Island High School – that all seniors graduated on time and did not need extended time for the summer. We don’t have any seniors in our summer school program.”

There are 50 students in grades 9-11 enrolled in summer school programs.

“We also have students getting credit through an online program called APEX,” Graham said. “We’re very proud of our board and our community for supporting all these efforts to get kids get to the benchmark of graduating. We will also be administering Regents exams for students in grades 9, 10 and 11 on Aug. 19 and 20. We’re very proud of our high school team: our counselors and administrators, who were steadfast at multiple meetings to make sure students were on track.”