“I always loved school,” said Mr. Karlson, who became principal of Riley Avenue Elementary School this year. “I was very fortunate to have great teachers, great administrators, right through high school. And so it was always a place that I felt very, very comfortable.”

Mr. Karlson has spent every one of his 25 years with the Riverhead school district in its elementary schools, first as a teacher at Phillips Avenue Elementary, then at Roanoke Avenue before moving up to Aquebogue Elementary School as an administrator. After a brief stint as an assistant principal at Roanoke, Mr. Karlson landed at Riley Avenue.

It didn’t take him long to settle in and get started helping everyone address their needs.

“Things occur in different proportionality at the schools, but the issues are the same. And the mission is the same,” he said. “It’s not necessarily about learning how to be a solid administrator at Riley Avenue. It’s about helping people with what they need help with.”

It’s important to Mr. Karlson that he models transparency and directness to both staff and parents. It’s this authenticity that allows parents and staff to put their trust in the school.

“We get to have really frank conversations. All the relationships are about as direct as they get and they’re about as real as it gets,” said Mr. Karlson. “I believe in high agency paired with high accountability. I do think people do well when they are in the driver’s seat, as long as we have a culture that matches that, that we’re going to talk about how it’s going, like almost all the time, and not be afraid to change it.”

One of the ongoing problems in schools across the country is chronic absenteeism, which can be a difficult and sensitive issue to address. To combat attendance issues at his schools, Mr. Karlson reframed the approach as promoting attendance rather than dealing with absences. 

“Those felt like different things with different strategies. When I came here, one of the first things we did is form an attendance team. The parent-facing communication and the ways that we engage teachers are some things I’m really proud of,” Mr. Karlson said.

When Karlson began his career, it was Bryan Miltenberg, now principal of Aquebogue Elementary School, who made him his first official hire as a teacher at Phillips Avenue in 2001.

No matter which building he is in or in which position, Mr. Karlson brings his brand of gentle listening and kindness to bear on the administration at Riverhead schools. He hopes to leave Riley Avenue better than he found it, and that his time there makes him better, too.

For anyone considering a leap into educational administration, Mr. Karlson believes there is a litmus test for success in the field.

“There’s only one ingredient that you need, and it’s kind of like the go, no-go on being administrator, and that’s can you approach situations with benevolence?” he said.

“Can you, the harder the situation with the family, can you keep in mind that they’ve got a real problem, that they are trying to get a real solution to it? You might approach it differently than them, but they are just trying to be everything they can be for their kid,” he continued.

“With the staff member, when they come in and they have a need, the reason they’re discussing it with you is real. If you can’t do that, you’re just going to be very unhappy.”

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Each banner featured the name, image and branch of service of a local veteran. 

The veterans met with student ambassadors and their children or grandchildren in the cafeteria to hear the high school band play patriotic songs. Then the student ambassadors led them through the halls while the other kids waved flags and sang a song of appreciation.

“We are so appreciative of [Principal Gary Karlson] bringing us to Riley. This has been such an honor,” said Erica Murphy of Manorville, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant and current board of education president. “I love that the kids get to see the veterans and connect with people in the community they may not know have served.”

Ms. Murphy has participated in several Veteran’s Day events in the district. She and her husband, Michael, a retired senior master sergeant from both the Air National Guard and the Air Force, walked along with their daughter, Charlotte. 

“People forget that the military is a volunteer position, you don’t have to work there. Being able to make that choice. … It was right after 9/11 that I decided to enlist and make the country a little safer for everyone here,” said Ms. Murphy. “It means so much to feel the love and appreciation for that.”

Angel Velez, of Calverton, served as one of the student ambassadors. He said he was happy to participate in the walk. 

“I’m happy for them because they take care of our country,” said Angel.

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Banners lined the halls. (Credit: Amanda Olsen) Printes Brown with daughter Nahla Brown, along with student council member James Scanapico (Credit: Amanda Olsen) Ryan Dush with his daughters Sterling and Zephyr Dush, along with student council member Alexa Maldanado. (Credit: Amanda Olsen) Raymond Kreiger with his grandchildren Ethan and Elizabeth Barrett. (Credit: Amanda Olsen) The high school band played patriotic songs. (Credit: Amanda Olsen) Riley Ave. displayed their veteran appreciation Monday. (Credit: Amanda Olsen) Students join their veteran and active duty family and friends before the entire school salutes them in the halls. (Credit: Amanda Olsen)

This is the first veterans walk for Riley Avenue Elementary, a program Mr. Karlson brought with him when he came to lead the school this year. He first began connecting veterans with his students as a teacher at Roanoke around ten years ago.

Mr. Karlson’s father-in-law, Barry Gilmore, a Vietnam War veteran, had always been tight-lipped about his experiences in the past, but after Mr. Karlson’s questions, he began to open up.

“I came across some of his artifacts in his home, and I was asking him questions. My mother-in-law, my wife, my sister-in-law, all said, ‘You know, it’s awesome that he talked to you about it, because it wasn’t a topic of conversation in our house growing up,’” Mr. Karlson said.

Mr. Karlson invited Mr. Gilmore to meet with the kids in his class and talk about what it means to be a veteran. This evolved into a grade-level event called “Heros with Heroes” where students would have sandwiches with the veterans. Later, during COVID, the event was a webinar that spanned multiple schools. 

“I think of a family member or a veteran who spends time in our school is changed, too. 
We’re changed and they’re changed, and it’s all in a non-predetermined way, but education is supposed to make us different, right? You value the same things, but you’re not supposed to really leave school and be exactly the same as you were when you came in,” said Mr. Karlson.

The walk came from the idea of creating an event that is formative for a wide range of ages and grade levels.

“School is very powerful when it can provide shared experiences,” said Mr. Karlson. “It’s a difficult thing to find something of interest to someone who’s turning 5 years old and someone who’s turning 10. So we used Veterans Day and the concept of the walk to just give a shared experience.”

Charlotte Murphy summed up her experience with a hug for each of her heroes.

“It felt really fun [to walk] and I’m proud of my parents for being in the military because they’re the best people ever,” said Charlotte.

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Principal Thomas Payton and Assistant Principal Gary Karlson also turned one of the school bulletin boards into a display of gratitude towards staff expressed in 100 different languages.

Courtesy photos

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This year’s science fair — which took place last Wednesday afternoon — was slightly different than previous years’ fairs for two main reasons.

This year’s fair included participants from both the school’s new Junior Scientists club and visitors from Riverhead High School’s Science Olympiad program, according to assistant principal Gary Karlson. 

The older students entertained the younger, would-be scientists by making handmade lava lamps and making clay with household ingredients like cooking oil and food dye. Members of the Olympiad team also walked through the fair checking out the projects and leaving encouraging notes on participating students’ projects.

“We collaborated this year to start a Junior Scientists club as one of our after-school programs to try to really increase participation and really engage students that had an interest, but wanted to be supported by the school,” Mr. Karlson said, adding that the scientists club was launched last December. 

The club joins the broad roster of Aquebogue Elementary School’s after-school enrichment program, which also includes, among others, violin, ukulele, chess, indoor soccer and theater.

Mr. Karlson said the program was originally limited to a dozen students, but it’s been expanded to accommodate 14 participants, who have been meeting weekly this year. 

Mr.Karlson said that roughly 10% of more than 450 students at the school participated in the science fair, while a full half of the Junior Scientists club took part in this year’s science fair.

“To know that 50% of the club students felt empowered to do a project outside of school — that tells us that there is something there that we have to continue to support.”

Ten students from the Riverhead High School Science Olympiad program attended the science fair, Mr. Karlson said. 

The Science Olympiads program advisor — physics and science research teacher Riley McHugh — said the invitation for the club to participate in the science fair this year was very meaningful to them.

“It means a lot because it’s giving back to the younger kids in the community, showing them what some of the older kids can do in science and showing them how cool science is,” he said. “These are kids who dedicate a lot to science, so it means a lot to give back and to show them how important science is.”

Olympiad team president and class of 2023 salutatorian Jennifer Alonzo Moreno said she hopes her club’s presence at the fair inspires the younger generation to be involved.

“It shows that we really like to be involved in our community and it shows that we really want to be out there and be available for the younger kids too,” Ms. Alonzo Moreno said. “Hopefully they can see this as a potential future in joining the club and joining other types of clubs similar to this, as long as it piques their interests,” she said.

The winners of the Aquebogue science fair are:

Kindergarten

First place: William Hale  

Second place: Mason Smith 

Third place: Elias Reither 

First Grade

First place: James Sanders 

Second place: Gabriella Falcetta  

Third place was a three-way tie between Lena Fox, Mylah Zecena and Analee Huret Huertas.

Second grade

Kylie Shields won first place 

Marilla Pendelton won second place 

Joanna Kosinski won third place 

Third Grade

First place: Konstantina Panagopoulos

Second place: Violet Zaleski 

Third place was a tie between Alfredo Carrizal De Jesus and Sofia Martyniv.

Fourth grade

First place: Connor MacLeod 

Second place: Ryan Shields 

Third place was a three-way tie between Abigale Hale, Niko Panagopoulos and Savannah Kramer.

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