As the year comes to an end, we have to say goodbye to some of Wantagh’s great teachers as they retire from teaching. Among these retiring teachers is Mrs. O’Connor. Mrs. O’Connor is one of Wantagh’s business teachers and has been working in the high school and middle school for 33 years. Mrs. O’Connor attended Wantagh Middle School as a seventh grader and has been a part of the Wantagh community for 43 years and even met her husband of 31 years in our town. Mrs. O’Connor’s plans for retirement is to spend a great deal of time with her granddaughters and watch them a couple of days a week. In addition, she will be traveling to Austria, New Zealand, and the Fiji Islands for 3 weeks with her husband in October.  

During her time teaching at Wantagh High School, Mrs. O’Connor reached many achievements like being named Long Island Business Teacher of the Year in 2019. Mrs. O’Connor considers this one of her biggest accomplishments. Throughout her teaching career, Mrs. O’Connor taught 8 classes and was an advisor to 8 different clubs and extracurriculars between the middle and high school. As she reflects on her time teaching, Mrs. O’Connor thinks that technology has changed the most throughout her career. She states, “I wish I was around to see the future of AI in education- the possibilities with AI are endless.”  

Mrs. O’Connor’s favorite thing about Wantagh High School is working with the juniors and seniors; she loves seeing the excitement about their futures and college plans. “I will miss the staff and students the most. I will also miss being involved in many different activities and events throughout the year.”

Mrs. O’Connor has provided Wantagh High School and Wantagh Middle School with many opportunities and has taught her students many valuable lessons throughout her time here. She will be missed greatly by the staff and students!