Greenport School Superintendent Marlon Small is leaving the district at the end of the school year to serve as superintendent at Elmont Union Free School District starting July 1.

Mr. Small has been the superintendent at Greenport for four years. Elmont Union Free School District announced his appointment on Facebook May 14. He feels it’s the right time to make the transition.

“I feel that over the last four years, we’ve done some good work in Greenport,” he said. “We’ve invested a lot in instructional resources for our teachers and we’ve seen some improvements … when I got here both buildings were on the state list of comprehensive support and improvement schools and they since have been removed based on the work that we’ve done, and so you’re at the point now where I think it’s a good time to make that transition.”

For now, Mr. Small said he intends to finish out the year in Greenport performing the tasks he normally would to close a school year and work to provide his replacement with a smooth transition.

The Board of Education will decide who replaces Mr. Small for the next school year after they discuss it. The next board of education meeting focus on the budget and vote for candidates.

“On behalf of the BOE, we would like to thank Mr. Small for his leadership at Greenport high school,” Board of Education President Jaime Martilotta said. “We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

“I am looking forward to joining the Elmont school community and to working collaboratively with the board, administrators, teachers, staff, parents and students to continue the district’s tradition of educational excellence for all its students,” Mr. Small said in the Facebook post. 

Mr. Small began his career as a teacher in Huntington where he later taught fourth grade. He then served as dean of students before serving as principal at Flower Hill elementary school for 11 years. From 2017 to 2020 he served as the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the South Country Central School District.

Mr. Small earned a professional diploma in Education Administration and Supervision at Dowling College, a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from SUNY Old Westbury and a masters degree in Elementary and Special Education from Adelphi University.

Greenport added a new auxiliary gym under Mr. Small’s leadership, and he helped implement the $18 million capital project approved by voters in 2019, which included plans for a new school library and a home and careers classroom. He also oversaw the launch of an introductory foreign language program in the elementary school and expanded the district’s special education program to support students on the autism spectrum. 

Working in the single building school with students from pre-k through 12th grade was a unique and unforgettable experience, Mr. Small said.

“I feel like I’ve had four wonderful years,” Mr. Small said. “I love the Greenport community … it was just a pleasure being in the building every single day to be with our children. We have a slogan that says ‘the best kids on earth learn here’ and I do believe that our children are some of the best kids that you could ever find and so that I will definitely miss and I will miss the staff as well because they welcomed me into the district in 2020 and we worked collaboratively to get work done and so it’s a great community. I’ve enjoyed being here and Im looking forward to this new start and this new phase of my career.”