“When I came to Mount Sinai, it was immediately clear that our district had strong traditions and a real need to accelerate into the future,” Dr. Criscione says.“My focus has been on building on that legacy while positioning our students to thrive in a rapidly changing world.” The district’s strategic plan, Mustang Pride Building our Future 2030, was born from extensive collaboration with staff, families, and community members who identified five priorities: teaching and learning, wellness, finance and operations, student experience, and parent and student engagement. Dr. Criscione frames the district’s direction with measured precision. “Everything we do is about aligning our work to do what people told us matters most.”The approach aligns with the economic reality of Mount Sinai itself, a predominantly residential hamlet of nearly 12,000 people with a median household income of $170,188 and minimal commercial development. Without major employers in the immediate area, the district looks outward to prepare graduates for regional job markets while maintaining the close community ties that define the area. THE MUSTANG PRIDE CULTURE The district’s identity goes beyond test scores and graduation rates into something harder to quantify but easier to observe.“Mustang Pride is really about our community being the heart of everything we do,” Dr. Criscione explains. “Students are engaged in service, whether it’s local partnerships, districtwide Mustang Pride events, or simply the way older students mentor younger ones.”At the middle school level, this translates into the Mustang Manners program, which Christopher Elsesser, middle school principal, oversees as part of the broader cultural framework. Community voice shapes major decisions in ways that produce tangible outcomes.The district recently passed a bond referendum focused on safety, security, athletics, and learning environments.“It wasn’t just about the facilities,” Dr. Criscione says. “It’s really about families coming together to invest in our kids. I see that as a powerful statement of confidence in our future.”The September 2025 vote confirmed how a residential community with limited commercial tax base can prioritize education spending when given clear information about needs and benefits. The emphasis on stakeholder input isn’t merely procedural. Dr. Criscione notes that the strategic plan came from what “people told us matters most,” a process that required synthesizing sometimes competing priorities across different constituencies. In a district where the student-teacher ratio of 12 to 1 allows for closer relationships than many Long Island schools, that collaborative approach reinforces 281 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 12 MOUNT SINAI UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT
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