The 2022-23 school year is the last for beloved art teacher Lord Peter Parlagreco. Everybody has a story about Mr. Parlegreco, who is more often referred to as Mr.P. From sparking a love for art to placing donut bets on hockey games, Mr.P has nurtured Wantagh High Schools art students for almost two decades and the precedent he has set in the art department will live on for years to come.
The love for Mr.P is undeniable in the building and the feeling is reciprocated especially within the art department. About the love shown to him this year through things like the P-Grexit shirts sold by the art department he said, “the positive comments this year have been especially kind and truly humbling. I don’t know if I really deserve them, but I do know that I really appreciate them.” Mr.P has fostered meaningful connections with many students over the years as he’s taught printmaking and animation in the middle school and Studio in Art, Studio in Media Art, Ceramics, Comprehensive Art, AP Drawing, Screenprinting, Yearbook, Animation, Video, and 3D Art in the highschool. Many of the art classes offered here were first proposed to the Board of Ed by Mr.P himself. Parlagreco said that his favorite thing about teaching at Wantagh High School and what he will miss the most is “the people I have built relationships with over the years, with both teachers and students (I’m looking at you Hunter!). It’s going to be strange not seeing them on a regular basis.”
Mr.P is ready for retirement with plans to get back to his illustration work and travel with his wife. He elaborated on this saying “Before teaching I was a working artist, sometimes freelance, sometimes in a studio. So I’m going to work on my illustrative art and see what comes of it. Aside from that, I’ll be doing some traveling with my wife once she retires next year. And there are plenty of things to do around the house.”
As a final addition to our goodbye to Mr.P, he shared his favorite story from his time teaching here. “One time I had a senior tell me that I was the subject of her college essay. That I had reignited her love of art, and she was going to school to become an art teacher because of my influence. It was both gratifying and heartwarming. It’s something I will never forget.”
Mr.P will be missed in Wantagh High School and his impact on and contributions to the art department will be celebrated and appreciated by art students and teachers for a long time to come.