Pulaski Street principal reflects on his long career in Riverhead, as he exits to take job in Mattituck

For more than two decades, Patrick Burke has been a constant in the Riverhead Central School District. He’s been a coach, a teacher, a principal and more.

But now, a man that spent the entirety of his educational career in Riverhead is moving on.

Burke, 54, will be the next principal of the Mattituck-Cutchogue High School next academic year. He leaves a lasting legacy on the Riverhead school district and on Pulaski Street Intermediate School, where he’s been principal for the last four years and worked to improve the school’s standing and environment.

During an interview Monday in his office, Burke reflected on his career in Riverhead. He will miss the community and the relationships he’s built throughout the last two decades the most, he said.

“This community is well deserving of so much. I feel beyond fortunate,” he said. “I feel like I gave the community back all of me and I gave the children every ounce of what I could, and I feel grateful for that.”

Burke started working in the district 25 years ago as a student teacher. He was previously a broker for Morgan Stanley, which he had done for five years before moving into education.

“There were experiences that I was having that I wanted more out of a career. I wanted to have something that was impactful and I just felt like I was going through the motions,” he said. A history buff, he took graduate classes on the subject at Stony Brook University, where he stumbled into an opportunity to work with a high needs student who couldn’t write his own notes.

“I saw all the things that the school was doing to accommodate and support this young man,” Burke said. “I became very friendly with him and then started to realize the benefits of education and school.”

That led Burke to end up taking a job as a student teacher at Riverhead High School.

“I wasn’t sure,” Burke said. “And the first opportunity when I was in that school, I knew: this is it.” He was making about 10% of what he had the year prior working for Morgan Stanley, he said, but it was well worth it.

After his student teaching he would become a substitute teacher and then was permanently hired as a social studies teacher in 2001. He coached basketball and lacrosse, was an advisor to high school classes and was a union representative.

“I never felt like I worked a day in my life because I truly loved every moment,” Burke said.

Then the opportunity came to become an assistant principal at Riverhead High School. Burke jumped at it and assumed the role in 2015.

“I felt I had such a nice impact and good relationships with students that I wanted to try to carry that forward, and maybe have a greater impact on a building level,” Burke said.

In 2017, Burke was transferred to Pulaski Street Intermediate School. He briefly returned to the high school before becoming acting principal of Pulaski Street School in late 2019 after the former principal was “reassigned” due to a personnel investigation. Burke was permanently assigned as principal the next year.

Coming to Pulaski was “quite a difference” from Riverhead High School, Burke said. The school serves close to 800 5th and 6th grade students that come from the school district’s four elementary schools. The school is, as Burke describes it, “one foot in elementary and one foot in middle school.”

“I do love the fact that these students have two years to kind of right their ship, or discover their strengths and work on some of their weaknesses, before they go into the middle school,“ Burke said.

“I do feel that Pulaski is something very unique and very special. And I hope that this building remains special,” he said.

The school also had to “heal,” Burke said. It had for several years been on the state’s focus school list and was, coming out of the pandemic, designated a school in need of “comprehensive support and improvement” (CSI). It is currently categorized as a local support and improvement school, which signifies it needs the least amount of targeted state support.

“Pulaski is now not only in good standing, but we also have shown academic growth in math and in ELA, and that’s because of a good team of people,” Burke said.

The CSI and other improvement designations required the administration to devise plans for improving student behavior and performance. One of the biggest pieces to that puzzle was something Burke began when he started as principal: Pulaski PRIDE. It is something known in the education world as a positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) initiative. PRIDE is an a acronym that stands for:

Patience
Respect
Inclusivity
Determination
Encouragement/Empathy

Pulaski PRIDE is written on posters and banners in every corner of the building. It’s a regular part of school assemblies and is complete with a call and response with students so loud it could shake any room. If students exhibit one of the PRIDE traits, they can receive stickers from faculty on a special “passport” that can be redeemed for prizes. Top prizes include being “principal for a day,” extra recess for a student’s class and facing Burke in Mario Kart. (The principal talks big with students about his Mario Kart skills, but says in private that he’s terrible at the video game.)

The model is about building an environment based on mutual respect and community. “If you have the right culture, if students love this building, they’re going to want to come to school and they’re going to feel comfortable and they are going to perform better,” Burke said.

“I think leaving the building in a better place than it was when I first got here is something I’m very proud of, “ Burke said. He credits the building’s faculty and staff, especially the building’s longtime assistant principal, Callan Lonergan.

Burke is not shy about his goals. At the same time he was getting his school building leader certification at Stony Brook University in preparation to apply for an assistant principal position, he was also doing a certification to be a district leader. He said he wants to move up the administrative ladder and get to the point where he could eventually be a district administrator.

He also wants to return to a high school setting, but didn’t see the opportunity in Riverhead. “It’s a bittersweet type of situation,” he said. He put his hat in the ring at Mattituck and was hired after the person originally hired was unable to fill the position.

“This is a bittersweet moment for our Riverhead School District community,” Interim Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich said in a letter to the community addressing Burke’s departure. “Of course, we wish Mr. Burke all the best in this new position; however, we are sad to say goodbye, as he has been a dedicated and respected educator and administrator in our district for the past 23 years.”

Burke said he’s feeling “very positive” and “very excited” about his move to Mattituck. It’s a new opportunity and a new community to connect with, he said. “I very much look forward to hitting the ground running,” he said.

During the interview in his office, Burke was visited by groups of 4th graders from Roanoke Avenue Elementary School, who were on a tour of the school they’ll attend come September.

“Are you guys happy? Sad? Excited? Are you nervous?” he asked the students. “It’s okay to be nervous, but you’re gonna do great. You’re gonna make so many friends, I promise you. It’s gonna be amazing.”

The tour culminates in an assembly. Burke is electric. While he answers the student’s questions, he also banters with them, gives out high-fives, tells jokes, gently teases, and compliments their hair and clothes. One student calls him funny.

“I feel like you are going to be a good principal,” one 4th grade girl said.

The next principal at Pulaski Street will have big shoes to fill.