Special Thanks to:

Mr. Peter Stachecki, author of the Database – Peter Stachecki is an exceptional educator. The database which is the centerpiece of this website, represents thousands of hours of work, over many years, which Peter Stachecki has selflessly dedicated to furthering understanding of the “Rights and Responsibilities” of young people in school settings. This has been a labor of love for him. He has undertaken the database as a tool to assist himself as Ombudsman at Northport High School and others interested in replicating this program. All of his work on the database has been without compensation, on his own time. His selflessness in sharing the product of many years hard work is greatly appreciated. All of us in the Northport – East Northport community admire Peter Stachecki for his kindness and steady and persistent calming nature that can diffuse almost any situation. His compassion as a teacher, colleague, and friend makes him a highly effective Ombudsman. He has the ability to help students in conflict empathize and identify with the views of others. Peter Stachecki’s knowledge of school law, Commissioners decisions, Constitutional principles, statutes, and case law has made him an invaluable part of our learning community. We cannot thank him enough for his leadership and incredible contribution to this project. The Student's Rights Database, and this website would not be possible if not for Peter Stachecki’s many talents as an educator and his commitment to extending the benefits of this program to students all over our nation. It has been a great honor to work with Peter Stachecki on this project.

Dr. Gregory S. Wisely, Emil Zullo, and Kathleen Kalinowski, of the Law, Youth, and Citizenship Program of the New York State Bar Association and the New York State Education Department – Our good friends at “L.Y.C.” have been such an enormous part of the motivation and process by which this website became possible. In addition to providing much needed funding, our friends at L.Y.C. have provided constant encouragement and support for this project. I especially want to thank Dr. Gregory S. Wilsey, Director of L.Y.C., who has been exceptional in his commitment to this project and has always seen the incredible value in sharing Peter Stachecki’s Database over the internet as a way to advance “Student’s Rights and Responsibilities” in school settings. We are very grateful for all of the support offered by L.Y.C. and for all the outstanding work they do in support of Law Related Education throughout New York State.

Touro College – Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center – We have received tremendous support for this project from numerous people at the Law Center. We would like to thank Dean Howard Glickstein for his commitment to supporting Law Related Education. Vice Dean Gary Shaw has been invaluable in both his encouragement and support, especially in providing access to Law Center facilities and staff to support this project. It has been a great honor to work with Professor Thomas A. Schweitzer who coordinated a professional review of the database. Professor Schweitzer has dedicated countless hours to oversight of this project and has been an invaluable partner in completing this project. I would also like to thank Professor Schweitzer’s Research Assistant, Christine Rubenstein. Christine Rubenstein has had an incredible enthusiasm for this project. Her organization and diligence in examining the database contents was key to the success of this project. I would also like to thank Rob Topschler and the staff at the Law Center’s MIS Department who provided much needed technical support and advice. Overall, the Touro Law Center has proven to be an essential partner in our mission to promote Law Related Education. We are very grateful for the support of everyone at the Touro Law Center and look forward to continuing our partnership for many years to come.

Suffolk's Edge Teacher Center – A grant secured through the Suffolk's Edge Teacher Center assisted with the development of this site. We greatly appreciate all the efforts of Jane Lombardo, Pat Sommerstad, and Elyse Eusanio who do an outstanding job supporting the efforts of teachers who wish to share successful educational programs. The support of everyone at the Suffolk's Edge Teacher Center is greatly appreciated.

Linda Quinn, Northport High School Art Department – We are very grateful for the hard work and creativity of our colleague Linda Quinn. All of the web design work and the creation of the pages and links were done by her. Her patience in tolerating our numerous changes and additions as this site developed is greatly appreciated. It was a pleasure working with Linda Quinn on this project. Her commitment to completing this project was an important part of getting the job done.

Dr. Michael Romano, Former District Chair Social Studies – Dr. Romano was a tremendous source of encouragement and advice as we proceeded through this project. As our Social Studies Department Chairperson, he fully supported this project and foresaw the great value in extending the Social Studies curriculum beyond the classroom through the Ombudsman program. His support was greatly appreciated.

Therese Hoschel, P.A.T.C.H. Program Secretary – Our Project Secretary, Teri Hoschel, has been such an important part of completing this project. We appreciate all of her hard work and enthusiasm for completing this project.

We would especially like to acknowledge the entire Northport – East Northport U.F.S.D. community, including all the P.A.T.C.H. program instructors, the teachers, students, staff, administration, parents, and members of the Board of Education who have fully embraced the importance of an Ombudsman in our schools and have supported Law Related Education for over three decades. Our District Superintendent, Dr. William Brosnan, and our former Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, Dr. Charles Piemonte, as well as Northport High School Principal Theresa Oropallo, have been especially strong advocates of this project and we would like to thank them for their support.