Garden City Names Christopher Hartigan New Stratford Principal

GARDEN CITY, NY — Christopher Hartigan was recently appointed the principal Stratford Avenue Elementary School by the Garden City Board of Education. Hartigan is already well-known throughout the Stratford community, having served as assistant principal since 2017. He will officially assume his new title on July 1, when current Principal Eileen Vota takes her leadership to Locust School.

Hartigan has provided many contributions to the students, families and staff members of Stratford, with responsibilities and accomplishments in the areas of supervision, instruction, student life, character education, assessment/data analysis and family engagement. He collaborated with teachers to develop and launch the building’s Four Pillars of Character program and student-friendly Code of Conduct, worked with colleagues to streamline reading processes, created and led professional development workshops, fostered relationships within the community through event planning in conjunction with the PTA and provided families with at-home learning tools. Additionally, he spearheaded the implementation of NWEA assessment, facilitated schoolwide RTI meetings to develop individual intervention plans for students and collaborated with teachers to design case studies for targeted instruction.

Previously, Hartigan spent five years at PS 253Q in Far Rockaway, where he held an assortment of roles including model teacher, teacher leader, administrative intern and special educator teacher. He taught in Lynbrook and Levittown schools earlier in his career and holds a School Building Leader Advanced Certificate from the College of St. Rose, a Master of Science Degree in Special Education from CUNY Queens College and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Childhood Education from LIU Post.

“I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve as the principal of Stratford Avenue School,” Hartigan said. “I am eager to continue my leadership journey with such a dedicated school community and passionate faculty and staff. Elementary school is a time for students to become creative, independent thinkers and problem solvers. I look forward to working with Stratford students on developing their curiosity for learning, while cultivating their individual passions, creativity, and strengths. We will work together to support Garden City School District's mission and vision to continue our legacy of innovation and excellence.”

“We are delighted to have Mr. Hartigan take his leadership at Stratford to the next level and continue his excellent work on our administrative team,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kusum Sinha said. “I anticipate many exciting developments and enhancements to our programs in the 2021-22 school year, with Mr. Hartigan serving as principal at Stratford and Ms. Vota bringing her expertise to Locust, and we look forward to sharing many highlights in the future.”