Lynbrook teacher retires after 33 years

In one of the last lessons before the end of the school year -- and one of the final moments in her 33-year teaching career -- Waverly Park Elementary School teacher Geri Neiman explained to her second-graders that artist Vincent Van Gogh was one of a kind.

"He wasn't a copycat," she told them earlier this month as the 15 girls and five boys in the classroom sat cross-legged on the rug. "He was an original."

Many in the Lynbrook school district could say the same about Neiman.

She's been a staple in the district for decades, teaching grades one through three in the same elementary school she attended as a child and staying in the school for the majority of her teaching career. She has taught parents of children who this year were in her class. In years gone by, she even taught her sister.

Tuesday, Neiman will spend her last full day in the classroom. Her Merrick home is on the market, and she is planning to retire to Florida to take care of her aging parents. She is one of seven teachers retiring in the Lynbrook district and more than 3,800 statewide who had filed retirement applications by mid-June with the New York State Teachers' Retirement System.

"I'm going to be absolutely brokenhearted," Neiman, 58, said of leaving the classroom. "They gave me so much more than I ever gave them."

As Neiman puts it, she is "passing the torch." Her retirement enabled the district to save another teaching job.

She first arrived at Waverly Park, a one-story, brick building built in 1953 in East Rockaway, as an 8-year-old girl who was scared and nervous to start at a new school.

Her teacher then, Doris Curtin, recognized her fear and made a lasting impression with her warmth and kindness. Neiman knew right then she wanted to teach.

"It is what I always wanted to do," she said.

She stayed local most of her life, earning her bachelor's and master's degrees from Adelphi University. The children in her class describe her as "nice" and "pretty," and a teacher who helped them learn.

At a recent retirement dinner at the Long Island Marriott Hotel in Uniondale, Neiman was honored by colleagues, family and her current students, who sang lyrics composed in her honor to the tune of Don McLean's "American Pie."

In teaching, Neiman said, it's important to listen more to the children than to just speak at them.

"Even after all these years, she still has enthusiasm and enjoyment of the job," said Bill Belmont, a Lynbrook district board member. Both Belmont and his son, Jake, count themselves among her former students.

Colleagues say Waverly Park won't be the same next year without her.

Jackie Miller has taught alongside Neiman for more than a decade. They became best friends who met for bagels every morning and prepped for class each day. Miller said she has no idea how she'll cope come September.

"I'm in denial," she said. "She's a fixture at the school."

Principal Lucille McAssey drew an apt metaphor, redolent of elementary school art projects.

"She is the glue that binds Waverly together," McAssey said. "She is going to be sorely missed."