Hewlett teacher Halley Manyin to retire after 33 years

“Don’t get twisted.”

When that cryptic email from literacy lead Halley Manyin arrived for staff at a Hewlett elementary school last month, it left more than a few of her fellow teachers mystified.

The note turned out to be a teaser for her annual surprise: a spread of variously flavored pretzels laid out in the mailroom as a reminder to unwind.

“I’m all about morale,” said Manyin, 55, of Oceanside. “You can’t teach without having that.”

At the Franklin Early Childhood Center, a pre-K through first grade school in the Hewlett-Woodmere school district, Manyin has built a reputation as a beloved teacher and a steadying force for colleagues navigating change.

Manyin, a former first grade teacher and now a reading specialist, has helped others navigate new curricula, provided intervention for struggling students and designed “purposeful play” that allows young people to be assessed without realizing it.

“Every school should have a Halley Manyin,” said kindergarten teacher Sue Patella, who has known her 27 years. “When everyone else is ‘Oh my God, there’s another change coming down the road,’ Halley is the one saying to us ‘We’ve gotten through this before. . . . We’ll make it work for us.’ She does a lot of the leg work to prep us so our jobs are easier.”

That leadership was indispensable a few years ago when the district adopted a science-based reading program rooted in phonics, which emphasized sounding out words and pronunciation patterns. Colleagues said she pored over reams of test data to determine what the majority of students were able to read at different points during the year, then developed benchmarks to evaluate student and teacher success.

Principal Nicole Montellese recalled observing Manyin’s students reading a book that ended on a cliffhanger, with children eager to know what happened next. 

“Me too. I haven’t written it yet,” Manyin replied. She said she wrote the book because students weren’t ready for the next level and it was easier to create what they needed than find and order the right materials.

“Halley is a force,” Montellese said. “I would refer to her as a lifeline also. She has everyone’s best interest in mind.”

Manyin’s mind often buzzes with ideas. In the “Phonics Fashion Show” she organized last spring, students made placards with words and images reflecting what they had learned, then paraded down a red carpet in front of parents. In a bingo-like game called “Beat the Clock,” students pick words, read them and match them to images on boards she created.

After 33 years in the district, Manyin is planning to retire at the end of the year.

She said she’ll be leaving on a high note, having taught youngsters not just reading skills, but habits for life.

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