New Superintendent Of Schools Named In Lindenhurst UFSD

LINDENHURST, NY —The Lindenhurst school district has named a new permanent superintendent and he's a graduate of Lindenhurst High School.

The Lindenhurst Board of Education has named Vincent A. Caravana as the permanent superintendent of schools. Caravana brings nearly 25 years of experience in education to the role, including nearly 16 years in the Lindenhurst School District, officials said.

He previously served as Lindenhurst’s Interim Superintendent of Schools for the 2023-2024 school year.

“When I think about where most of the building blocks of who I am as a person came from, I think about all of the excellent teachers that I had,” Caravana said. “I started my career in education because I wanted to be that person for the next generations of students.”

Caravana started as a high school English teacher at West Islip High School in 2000 before moving to his first administrative position in 2007 as assistant principal at Beach Street Middle School, also in West Islip.

He said working in public school administration not only allowed him to broaden his impact on student education but also gave him the opportunity to become a teacher and mentor to other teachers.

“The science of teaching never stays stagnant. There are so many layers to how humans learn,” Caravana said. “As an administrator, you’re not only working in the academic realm of education but also the social one. You are trying to get your teachers to grow and push themselves out of their comfort zone to become better teachers, but you can only do that if you have gained their trust.”

First coming to Lindenhurst as coordinator of secondary English in 2009, Caravana became assistant principal at Lindenhurst High School in 2013 before becoming assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and instructional Personnel in 2014 and deputy superintendent in 2016.

As a Lindenhurst high, Caravana said what makes the Lindenhurst community special is how friendly and welcoming it is.

“We have a very family-like atmosphere here, and everyone really looks out for each other,” he said. “I’ve never seen a place with such a sense of synergy, camaraderie, and unified sense of spirit.”

Caravana one of his priorities will be to expand the district’s career and technical education offerings to give students additional paths to success after graduation.

“We always talk about college and career readiness, but the emphasis has more often been on college readiness,” he said. “I think students should be presented with the opportunity of pursuing what they love, whatever it might be.”