Bayside High School is commemorating its 90th anniversary this month, gearing up for a celebration that will bring together generations of students — current and former — across the tight-knit community to reflect on its past and look forward to its future.
The Bayside Beyond 90 Anniversary Celebration, organized by Friends of Bayside, kicks off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, and will feature a reception, legacy exhibits, light bites and a souvenir, as well as performances and displays by students in the school’s six Career and Technical Education programs.
Regular tickets are $50 and are available here on GiveButter.com.
“It’s so heartwarming,” said Tracy Martinez, principal of the high school. “It’s a long-standing history and legacy. The community connections go so deep and there’s a sense of pride.”
The high school, home to the Bayside Commodores, initially opened on March 16, 1936, under the leadership of Principal George J. Crane with 2,300 seats.
Since then, it has undergone expansions, upgrades and a dramatic shift in curriculum to meet modern demands in the constantly-evolving job market.
Martinez, who stepped into the leadership role at the high school in 2022, said while she isn’t an alumna, her first impression of the school was of its innovative, collaborative nature.
Not only has the school become a pioneer in CTE programs and college-readiness, she said, but it provides comprehensive support to families of all backgrounds, contributing to the school’s notable sense of community.
Martinez said part of the reason the school is so successful at its goal of preparing students for the future is because Bayside alumni help lead the charge.
“We have so many stories of former students that have returned to the school to be teachers, partners and facilitate internships for students,” Martinez said. “To give back to the community in this way is so meaningful.”
Take a look back at some of the stories told by Bayside alumni over the years:
Ralph Tucci, Class of 1972
Ralph Tucci, who graduated from Bayside in 1972, recalled waiting outside the side entrances on his first day of school in 1968. At the time, his class size was about 1,200 students, most of which he’d gone to elementary school with and already knew.
For a few periods each day, Tucci worked in the school store, which he said he enjoyed.
He also played sports and tried out for the baseball team a few times — although, he said, he didn’t make the team and ended up joining the school’s theater program, run by Danny Foceri at the time, as a junior.
“There were times we would stay late at the school rehearsing or putting up the set,” he said. “He really worked well with the kids.”
One of his fondest memories, Tucci said, was staying at the school until midnight preparing for the school’s production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” alongside Foceri and fellow cast members.
“It was just a very fun experience,” he said, jokingly referring to it as “Hell Night.”
After graduating, Tucci said he kept in contact with some high school friends mostly through Facebook, meeting every now and then in person.
He eventually returned to the Bayside campus in 2016 for the school’s 80th anniversary and again in May 2024 for a tour of the school.
“First of all, it seemed much less crowded,” he said, laughing. “They put in a new technology center, it was nice and clean, the auditorium was renovated — I saw a lot of improvement.”
Although, he said he has yet to see the upgraded athletic field unveiled in October, which he said he was looking forward to when he returned for the school’s 90th anniversary.
However, Tucci said one thing about Bayside hasn’t changed.
“Cultural diversity is great in Bayside,” Tucci said. “All the different kinds of people, all the different nationalities and types of restaurants — I always thought it was very nice.”
Vanessa Valente, Class of 1992
Vanessa Valente, who graduated from Bayside in 1992 and now works as an English teacher at the high school, recalled being nervous the first day of her freshman year while walking over to her class in room 336 with her friends.
“I just remember being scared and wondering if I’d ever get the hang of it,” Valente said. “It was so overwhelming.”
Luckily, Valente said her teachers were very welcoming, and she never felt afraid or intimidated by anyone.
She recalled getting close with her French teacher and helping her put together the school’s International Festival, as well as participating in the school’s ARISTA National Honor Society and eventually the prom committee.
By her senior year, Valente said she’d completed nearly all of her required courses and spent most days leaving the school by 11 a.m. to work as a dental assistant a few blocks away.
A few years later in 1997, Valente said she was still working on her teaching degree and needed observation hours.
She said she kept in contact with a few teachers at the high school and happened to be in the right place at the right time while looking for opportunities, earning her hours sitting in classes taught by her old teachers at the high school.
By the time she graduated, she said a teacher was leaving the school, meaning there was officially an opening for her.
“Bayside was always my dream school,” Valente said. “It was always my goal to come back.”
Valente said her English teachers — particularly Brenda Goldstein — always made her feel most comfortable. Even if she didn’t return to teach at Bayside, she said she would have tried to create the same open atmosphere wherever she ended up.
Even after getting hired, she said her colleagues always encouraged her and taught her what it meant to be a teacher.
“I haven’t had a bad year,” Valente said. “I haven’t had one negative experience with the kids or anything.”
Valente said in her classroom, she always opens up to students and is not afraid to show emotion and humanity — something she learned from her own experience at Bayside.
Jena Lanzetta, Class of 1994
Jena Lanzetta, who graduated from Bayside in 1994, said almost all her family members before her are graduates of the high school, including both of her parents, their brothers, sisters and cousins, and her grandmother on her father’s side.
One of her sons currently attends the high school, and her youngest will when he’s of age, as well.
“Bayside holds a special place in my heart because all my family attended,” she said. “I’m really proud my kids get to go there, as well.”
She recalled her first days at Bayside, remembering how big the school felt. Although, she said she got comfortable quite fast.
“I felt at home,” Lanzetta said. “I participated in a ton of activities, and I was able to meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends.”
She fondly remembered volunteering in the student organization office, joining Key Club, playing in the orchestra, and captaining the school’s softball, basketball and bowling varsity teams.
One of her favorite teachers, she said, was her physical education teacher, Steve Piorkowski — although all the kids knew him as “Mr. P.”
“Everybody just loved him, he was just such a cool guy,” Lanzetta said. “He was kind and fair to everyone, and he was just fun to be around.”
Piorkowski died of cancer in 2015, although the corner of 204th Street and 32nd Avenue was named after him the following year.
While she hasn’t attended any reunions since graduating, Lanzetta said she visits the school often as president of the Northwest Bayside Civic Association and vice chair of Community Board 11. Principal Martinez even invited her to the groundbreaking ceremony of the athletic field last April.
“I had such a great experience in Bayside,” she said. “You know, a lot of people look back and are so glad they’re out of high school — I would go back to Bayside High School as a student any day.”
Stephanie Comeau, Class of 2004
Stephanie Comeau, who graduated from Bayside in 2004, said 26 years after stepping foot in the high school, she still stays in contact with the lifelong friends she made there.
“I just feel like we kind of walked through life with each other,” she said.
Comeau, who traveled on two buses from her home in Jamaica all the way to Bayside, remembered showing up to her first day of school wearing a black silky shirt and wide black pants with big, chunky boots. She described herself as “goth,” wearing black nail polish and thinking she might become a wrestler someday.
“I was like, addicted to the Hardy Boyz, so I wanted to look exactly like them,” Comeau said, laughing. “Terrible outfit.”
Comeau participated in many after-school activities, she said, such as the Latin Dance Club, a break-dancing group, and the Gay Straight Alliance — which was founded by one of her best friends.
She said she felt very supported by high school staff when she joined the GSA club, which she said is a testament to the school’s open and accepting atmosphere.
Comeau auditioned for the school’s arts program, landing a spot for her freshman year. Although, she said she quickly became discouraged after receiving some harsh feedback on a project she worked on.
“I just said, ‘Forget about these classes,’ and I didn’t really go,” Comeau recalled. “But then I had this one teacher in a sculpture class — Mrs. Chee — and she just reignited my love for art.”
Comeau recalled Chee giving her a lot of creative freedom, allowing her to express herself and create fun masks and figures in the class.
Fast forward 20 years later, Comeau has a career in production and set design, working with props and making miniature set pieces she brings back to the high school for its annual “Back 2 Bayside” career day. She shares her art pieces and projects she’s working on with students to help inspire the next generation of Bayside graduates to pursue fulfilling careers.
Comeau also stays in contact with Valente, who she calls Ms. V, because she said Valente always encouraged her to be herself. “She is a national treasure,” she said.
Some of her art pieces are still on display at the school, Comeau said, which she said makes it feel like the first day she walked through Bayside’s doors.
“I just feel like no other school had that camaraderie that we had at Bayside,” she said. “I’m thankful to the school for giving me forever friends that turned into family.”
Bayside High School today
Today, Bayside High School still stands tall, serving over 3,000 Commodores within its 305,000-square-foot campus and 300,000 square foot athletic field.
While former students continue reflecting on the ways in which Bayside shaped them into the people they are today, the school continues to look ahead to new initiatives, such as expanding its college credit opportunities through its College-Level Examination Program, and maintaining its legacy in the community.
“I will always be in debt to Bayside and Ms. V,” Comeau said. “Whatever she needs, whatever Bayside wants, I will gladly take the phone call and do it for her.”
Valente said even though she no longer lives in Bayside, returning to the school each day as a teacher feels like coming home.
While she encouraged all Bayside alumni to attend the 90th anniversary celebration, she said the school welcomes alumni any time they’d like to visit and relive some of the memories they cherish to this day.
“I love hearing people say, ‘I’m a proud Baysider,’” she said. “We have a wonderful alumni base and a proud heritage. This party is for everyone, and they’re always welcome to come back.”
