“From the first day I walked into this building, I knew this is where I should be,” said Maria Cuomo.
As principal of Ave Maria Catholic Academy (formerly Our Lady of Grace) in Howard Beach, Cuomo, 36, spent 12 years as a teacher before taking the position in 2009.
After receiving both her undergrad and master’s degrees from St. John’s University, the finance major began her career working in a bank, which she found “unrewarding.”
After she found out about a position at OLG, she began teaching third grade, then fifth and sixth, and then remedial math.
But her “most rewarding position,” she said, was teaching math to fifth through eighth graders.
“I finally got the chance to devote my day to teaching math,” Cuomo told The Courier. “Connecting with the upper grade children was really the best.”
In September of last year, when OLG became Ave Maria – complete with a Board of Directors – Cuomo, who herself has two children enrolled in the school, became principal.
“The transition was very smooth,” she said.
In her first year, which she would qualify as “successful,” Cuomo said that “I took a look at things and saw where we needed to grow. There has been a big sense of community this past year with parents, children and staff.”
She credits “very involved parents, like those of the fundraising committee,” a “talented, intelligent and dedicated Board of Directors” and working closely with OLG pastor, Father Anthony Rucando.
The school’s mission of giving back to the community and teaching students to be “responsible Christian adults” was exemplified with the event they recently hosted for the parents and children of NYFAC (New York Families for Autistic Children).
“We celebrate our faith as a community,” she explained. “Our biggest goal is to get the kids to Mass on Sunday.”
As for the next school year, which begins on September 8, Cuomo said she is “looking forward to challenging the students.”
This includes an Integrated Algebra program for junior high, which she will be teaching, an extended day program (7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and working with the Board and strategic planning committee on a new, state-of-the-art science lab (complete with SMARTBoards) and media center.
And, of course, she said, “continuing to foster a sense of community.”
