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Vol. 37 No. 19
MAY 7 - 13, 2026
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After 55 years, center faces sudden closure were not getting the teachers we needed when we had the students interested.” A major factor has been the After 55 years of serving local families, the Rosa Lee Rockville Centre School DisYoung Childhood Center, in trict’s expansion of its univerRockville Centre, may soon sal pre-kindergarten program, close, as financial pressures, which offers families a free declining enrollment and shift- alter native to private earlying early-education options childhood care. The shift, Laface said, resultconverge to threaten ed in a significant the child-care prodrop in enrollment. vider. She described the The center curdistrict’s pre-K rently serves 21 chilexpansion as a “tredren and has a staff mendous hit,” notof 13, but Executive ing that families Director Christina increasingly opted Laface said that it for the free program has struggled to over tuition-based recover financially care that costs nearsince the coronavily $2,000 per month rus pandemic. per child at Rosa “A s far a s lIsA MACK Lee Young. income, we’ve been President, The financial gap s t r u g g l i n g s i n c e board of trustees made participation Covid,” Laface said. in the center’s proLisa Mack, presigram unfeasible for many pardent of the center’s board of trustees, said it has been ents even when the center caught in a difficult cycle: not explored becoming a universal enough enrollment to cover pre-K provider itself. Laface costs, and not enough staffing said that the school district’s c ap a c i t y t o e x p a n d wh e n reimbursement rates — previously about $5,700 per child demand briefly increased. “We were not getting the annually, and later proposed to enrollment we needed to stay in increase to roughly $10,000 — the black,” Mack said, “and we Continued on page 28
By BRIAN KACHARABA
bkacharaba@liherald.com
Stu Goldman/Herald
Celebrating 35 years of educational innovation Rockville Centre Education Foundation Co-presidents Eric Mingorance, left, and Darren Raymar marked the organization’s 35th anniversary at a gala on May 10 at Gatsby on the Ocean at Jones Beach. The celebration reflected on the foundation’s impact over the decades while reinforcing its role in connecting educators, families and local businesses. Proceeds from the evening will support future grants and scholarships. Story, more photos, Page 3.
Cardiologist takes on fatigue Local heart doctor shares simple path to gain more energy By ABIGAIl GRIECo agrieco@liherald.com
Four months after the release of his first book, Dr. Athan Smyrlis is already seeing what he hoped for: meaningful changes in the lives of the people closest to him — and in the patients he treats every day. The Rockville Centre resident’s book, “Why So Tired?” published True Health Compass LLC in January, offers a 101-day guide to improving energy, sleep and mental clarity through small, consistent lifestyle changes. Since its release, Smyrlis said, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, both from readers and from those he treats in his practice.
“I wrote it for my family, my friends and my patients,” he said. “To now see it actually helping people feel better, that’s the most rewarding part.” Smyrlis, 45, has been a clinical and interventional cardiologist at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital, in Oceanside, for the past decade. Born and raised in Greece, he specializes in invasive cardiology and regularly treats patients with serious heart conditions. But it wasn’t just his professional experience that inspired the book — it was also personal. For years, Smyrlis said, fatigue was one of the most common complaints he heard from patients, often without a clear medical explanaContinued on page 24
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e were not getting the enrollment we needed to stay in the black.