Jennifer J. Bumford
Principal
California Avenue School, Uniondale Public Schools
From the time she was three years old, Jennifer J. Bumford knew that her calling was “education.” Her favorite childhood pastime was to play “teacher” while entertaining friends and family with her imaginative lessons. Today, Bumford’s passion for teaching and learning resonates throughout Uniondale’s California Avenue School community, where she serves as principal.
During her tenure at the school, Bumford initiated a series of programs, policies and committees designed to boost academic achievement, character education and student safety. A strong believer in collaboration, she nurtures relationships with local institutions — such as Hofstra University, Long Island Children’s Museum, New York State Council on the Arts and Friends of the Arts — so that new initiatives in dance, music, theater, literary and visual arts become part of the curricula.
With Bumford at the helm, California Avenue School was recognized by the Town of Hempstead for its schoolwide recycling program — one of the first of its kind in the region. The school also earned recognition from the Long Island Urban League for sponsoring more students in its National Achiever’s Society than any other elementary school on Long Island.
In a career spanning more than 20 years, Bumford served as a teacher and administrator for New York City’s public schools and as an assistant principal in two Uniondale elementary schools — Walnut Street and Northern Parkway Elementary.
As modest as she is committed, Bumford wants to share her Nassau BOCES “Education Partner” award with the dedicated team at California Avenue School, as well as with her family. She is the proud mother of three children who attend school in the Baldwin district, where she participated in Parents as Reading Partners and served as a member of the district’s site-based management team and PTA corresponding secretary.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Boston University, a master’s degree in education from Queens College and a professional diploma in school administration and supervision from Brooklyn College.
