NEW YORK – The Board of the Cathedral School of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity has announced the appointment of Theodore P. Kusulas, former principal at the schools of St. Demetrios in Astoria,  to be the new Head of the school,  replacing Sonia Celestin. He will begin his service on June 15, 2014. Dimitra Manis, a member of the Board, writes in letter that “Mr. Kusulas (also affectionately known as Mr. Ted by many of his former students and colleagues) comes with decades of experience  and noted accomplishments as a dedicated educator and administrator in both private and public schools, with students from K-12, in the New York Metropolitan Area.” Kusulas current post is District Administrator for the Monticello Central School District, where he consults. He was previosly  the Director of English Language Arts, Social Studies & Library Education, K-12, in Monticello; and, Associate Superintendent for Elementary Education in the Clarkstown Central School District (New City, New York).    He also served as a Principal at  Brooklyn Avenue School (Valley Stream, NY), Prospect Hill School (Pelham, NY), Colonial School (Pelham, NY) and St. Demetrios Greek American School (Astoria, NY). His career began “as a social studies teacher at the St. Demetrios School where he was employed for 12 years and was promoted to Assistant Principal and later Principal, when he collaboratively assisted in the effort to successfully expand St. Demetrios from K-8 to PK-12,” Manis wrote. The letter notes Kusulas’ following successes:  Developed K-12 curriculum and introduced assessment initiatives; Orchestrated the development and implementation of a Balanced Literacy Framework; Accredited a school in the International Baccalaureate; realigned local curriculum, instruction and assessment with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in Science, History/Social Studies and Technical Subjects; certified Lead Evaluator of Teachers; Increased use of multi- sensory strategies; developed 21 Century and College & Career Readiness skills, K-12; and revised math standards and grade specific performance indicators. Kusulas earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wagner College, a Professional Diploma in School Administration and Supervision from Hunter College, and a Master of Arts in American Studies from the University of Connecticut. The letter notes that “He currently resides in Whitestone with his wife Angela (Germanakos), a former principal of the Greek American Institute (Bronx, NY); their son, Matthew is a physician completing a Fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine in Philadelphia.” The letter by Manis included “A very special thank you to the teachers, students and parents who generously volunteered much time and effort to be involved in the search and selection process.  Our students described Mr. Kusulas as ‘enthusiastic and passionate,’ ‘he believes in equality yet thinks discipline is a virtue’ and “he believes in students having a voice and will introduce new initiatives to include us.’  These comments were repeatedly echoed by many of the supervisors, colleagues, and former students on an extensive list of references.” She added “Thank you for your patience and support during this process…. Please join us in welcoming Mr. Ted Kusulas to the Cathedral School. We feel very fortunate to have such a dedicated and accomplished educator join our School community and look forward to introducing Mr. Ted to the students, parents and teachers.” Kusulas will be joining the Faculty meeting  on Wednesday, May 7 and there will be a Board Update for parents