The North Shore Board of Education introduced Thomas Sheehan as the new principal of Glen Head School, granted tenure to 11 teachers and honored 16 retirees during a ceremony Thursday night.

The board also approved a new employment agreement with Superintendent Chris Zublionis that begins July 1 and ends July 30, 2029.

“This is a monumental moment for this district, for our faculty, for the board and, most importantly, for this community and its students,” Board President Andrea Macari said. “Thank you, Dr. Z, for your unparalleled dedication, leadership and, most importantly, love of North Shore. No one works harder than you.”

Zublionis said he was “extremely humbled” and “honored.”

The board approved the appointment of Sheehan as principal of Glen Head School, effective July 9 of this year through July 9, 2028.

Sheehan is currently principal of the Sycamore Avenue Elementary School in Bohemia. Previously, he worked as an elementary school teacher at Floral Park-Bellerose School.

“Joining Glen Head Elementary and the North Shore School District fills me with excitement and anticipation and I cannot wait to work alongside dedicated educators and families to make a positive impact on our students’ lives,” Sheehan said in a statement. “I am eager to get to work and meet everyone.”

Zublionis said at the end of an “exhaustive search” Sheehan “certainly emerged as the strongest candidate.”

The board granted tenure to 11 teachers across the elementary, middle and high schools from the music, special education, speech and language, Spanish, computer science and art departments.

Each school principal gave a detailed speech for each tenure candidate from their school.

It was an emotional and lively ceremony. When music teacher Brandon Bromsey received his recommendation for tenure, his high school music students emerged from the stage wings and surprised him and the audience with a trumpet fanfare and marching band performance.

One school principal wrote limericks for each tenure candidate while another wore a trench coat and held a speaker over his head “Say Anything”-style for his school’s tenure candidates.

The board honored 16 retirees with a combined 360 years of experience. The superintendent honored Maria Behar, a special education teacher, as the longest-serving retiree this year. She worked in the North Shore School District for 39 years.