This interview took place on the morning of Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 - in the First Floor Conference room of the high school - located at 821 Bay 25th Street, in the Wavecrest Section of Far Rockaway, Queens, NYC. Principal Hallett was gracious enough to meet with rockawaymemories.com - identified in the transcript as RM. Ms. Hallett responds as DJH.

RM - Denise Hallett is the final principal of Far Rockaway High School and she has been with us how many years now?

DJH- For seven years.

RM - Seven years in this capacity and she is going to tell us something about herself- she is a product of New York City - she grew up in ...

DJH - In Harlem

RM - She attended schools in Harlem.

DJH - ...and she also went to college in New York City. All my education occurred in New York City. When I graduated from high school, which was Theodore Roosevelt High School...

RM - Don't tell us what year!

DJH - I'll try not to (laughing)... in the Bronx, on Fordham Road. I went to Hunter College and did my graduate work at Long Island University and also at City College, up in Harlem, up on the hill - so I'm a real product of New York City. I began my teaching career at Eastern District High School in Brooklyn. I taught Health and was there for about eleven years. I left Eastern District High School and went on to become the Assistant Principal of Organization and Safety at Paul Robeson High School...

RM -Which is the "old"...

DJH - ...the "old" Alexander Hamilton High School and when I first went to Paul Robeson High School, they were just doing the construction to turn over Alexander Hamilton to this new technological high school, Paul Robeson High School. So I have a love affair with these old high school buildings which actually hold a lot of history for us and it saddens me to see them turned into the new schools.

RM - By "the new schools" you mean the charter and academy-type schools?

DJH - The charter, academy-type, the smaller schools. I'm a product of the larger type schools so I think I have an affinity for the larger high school. I think they did serve a purpose. There was a lot that could be done in the larger high schools that cannot be done in the smaller schools but I guess that's just me and that's my feelings, my fondness for them - and after leaving Paul Robeson High School I was asked by the Superintendent of Brooklyn High Schools to join her team and I worked in HR as the Executive Assistant of Human Resources. I did a lot there along with staffing and supporting the principals. I also handled grievances and worked with the United Federation of Teachers union on a lot of teacher issues for the superintendent. After my time with the superintendent of Brooklyn High Schools I then went on to become the Director of Field Services for the Department of Education - again with Human Resources. I spent about four or five years there in that capacity and was then asked by one of the deputy chancellors, then with Joel Klein, the former New York City Schools Chancellor who said to me: "I have a school in which I think you might be interested" and I was brought out to Far Rockaway High School. I saw the building, I walked the facility, I fell in love with the students who were here then and that was back in 2004 - and the rest is history. I've been here for seven years. There's been a lot of changes in that time - in those seven years, but...

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