After an extensive search that included valuable feedback from multiple stakeholder groups, we are pleased to announce the next principal of Lloyd Harbor School.

It is anticipated on Tuesday, June 11, the Cold Spring Harbor Board of Education will appoint Ms. Carissa Hajdasz-Shanahan as the next principal of Lloyd Harbor School. Ms. Hajdasz currently serves as the Cold Spring Harbor High School assistant principal supporting students, staff and families while addressing many attendance, assessment, and management items in the high school in collaboration with Mr. Danbusky and Ms. Harman. She has served as AP, SAT/PSAT and ACT Coordinator in addition to managing the grade reporting process for the school. Working with all students in grades 10-12, Ms. Hajdasz manages behavioral issues, supports department leaders and teachers and troubleshoots the variety of issues that present themselves each day.

Prior to arriving in Cold Spring Harbor, during summer 2023, Ms. Hajdasz served as middle school assistant principal in a grade 6-8 school in Whitesboro, New York. In that role, Ms. Hajdasz led the transitional sixth grade building on their middle school campus. This experience provided her with an opportunity to collaborate with elementary staff and leaders as students moved from the elementary schools to middle school. Her recent experience in our junior/senior high school has extended the visibility of the learning continuum to graduation. In her middle school role, Ms. Hajdasz gained experience aligning curriculum, administering and interpreting data from STAR and New York State assessments and preparing students for their educational transitions.

After majoring in biology at Syracuse University, Ms. Hajdasz earned a graduate degree in both school and mental health counseling before pursuing a career as a high school counselor and licensed mental health counselor. Ms. Hajdasz’s commitment to identifying the individual needs of students, staff, and the organization and creating effective and efficient action plans to address those needs, will be beneficial as she transitions to this new and important role.