Strippoli makes a full-circle return to John Paulding

Becoming the new principal of John Paulding School after 22 years in the Tarrytown School District is a homecoming of sorts for Mayerlin Strippoli.

Strippoli first came to John Paulding as a kindergartener in 1981, after immigrating with her family from the Dominican Republic. She was there for about a year before her family moved. In 2004, she returned to the district as an educator, hired by the principal — Michelle Milliam — who had welcomed her as a child.

“I came to school here fresh off the island,” Strippoli told the Dispatch. “So this is all very nostalgic for me.”