At the Dec. 10 meeting of the Long Beach Public Schools’ Board of Education, Theresa Napp was appointed Director of Humanities. Her new role will take effect on Jan. 25, 2016.
   
An educator for more than 25 years, Napp began her career in 1988 in Grenoble, France, where she taught English to French students. She then returned to the United States and taught all levels of French at South Side High School in Rockville Centre for nine years.
  
In 1999, Napp relocated to Commack High School where she taught Spanish to special needs students and those preparing to take the Regents or FLACS exam in Spanish. She continued to teach French and also taught Theory of Knowledge, the interdisciplinary course designed to teach students how to develop their critical thinking and communication skills by using the ways of knowing and areas of knowledge to formulate a reasoned argument both verbally and in written form.
   
Napp was appointed Commack High School’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Coordinator in 2000. In this capacity she has supervised and evaluated teachers, developed curriculum for a variety of courses, designed a four-year plan of study for students interested in advanced courses, hosted roundtables and site visits for prospective IB schools, established and chaired committees, prepared budget reports and provided presentations on a range of education topics.     
   
"I believe, like John Dewey, that ‘education is not preparation for life…education is life itself,’” Napp said. “Given my background and experience, becoming Director of Humanities is a logical transition for me. I am honored and delighted to become a member of the Long Beach administrative team. I am looking forward to taking on new challenges; learning from new experiences and collaborating with all the stakeholders of the Long Beach school district in order to help students achieve their highest potential."
   
Originally from Huntington, Napp currently resides in Westbury with her fiancé and two daughters. She earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in French Studies from SUNY Albany and also completed part of her education at Centre Universitaire d’Etudes Francaises in France.