As Monsignor Farrell enters its 60th year, the school turns a corner, modernizing its facility and curriculum – SILive.com

Over the past six months, in a full throttle effort to modernize the time-honored establishment that is Monsignor Farrell High School, Lou Tobacco has unapologetically spent $4.7 million.

Poured into science lab suites and STEM centers, a monstrous learning commons and renovated restrooms, the hard-earned, alumni-donated funding is now spread across the 18-acre campus of the all-boys Catholic school, evident in 45 touch-screen SMART boards, a life-size virtual dissection table and an entire Marine biology ecosystem. Defined as Farrells largest technological investment and facility modernization to date, the expansive spending is the first phase of a $12 million Strengthen the Legacy campaign aimed at transforming the college preparatory school, which for decades has coasted on its football accolades and a legendary local reputation alone.

The new 5 Court Bocce Complex (Courtesy/Lou Tobacco)

But for Tobacco, a Farrell alum himself who was awarded the title of school president and CEO in 2019 and tasked with providing visionary leadership and ensuring the schools continued viability, the improvements are personal.

Monsignor Farrell High School is steeped in tradition, known throughout Staten Island for its premier education and system of values, but we are also currently on the threshold of a transformative period, Tobacco noted while giving the Advance a recent tour of the revamped school. The lessons learned at 2900 Amboy Road are timeless: Brotherhood, discipline, respect, compassion, critical thinking and collaboration. But as time moves on, methods and tools for learning evolve and advance. Farrell, grounded in our storied history, is also evolving and advancing into a new era through significant investments in facility and technology.

Bubbling with enthusiasm, Tobacco bounds through the hallways during the tour, greeting uniformed students by name and invading classes mid-lecture. Its 9 a.m. and hes just had his coffee but its obviously not the caffeine thats causing his exuberance. The president is pumped for whats about to become for his alma mater.

The new Brother Henry S. Wright Learning Commons. (Courtesy/Lou Tobacco)

We put a lot of thought and effort into what was needed to update this school, Tobacco said. We worked to identify what modern tools would best support a well-rounded education, one that would prepare our students to be the next generation of successful leaders. We have made critical investments in our future, ensuring that our school will continue to be a positive force in this borough. We are extremely excited about what weve been able to set in motion already and are eagerly anticipating other advancements for the future.

Opened in 1961 and named after a prominent Catholic priest and community leader, Farrell has long been associated with athletics and is regularly referenced for its long list of locally famous alumni: The hallways have been home to a couple of assemblymen, (Cusick, 87, Tobacco, 90), three congressmen (Fossella, 83, Donovan, 74, McMahon, 75), a state senator (Lanza, 82), a former assemblyman and now surrogate (Titone, 79) and a borough president (Oddo, 84). Theres also several actors of note, a handful of professional athletes and scores of other professionals who have gone on to procure prominent titles. High ranking fire chiefs and police brass are also included on that list in a word - the Farrell network of alums, currently 14,000 strong, is impressive.

So many important and influential men have walked these halls, Tobacco said. I think that speaks volumes about our efforts to develop the whole man mind, body and soul. Some of the lessons we teach here are just as important as math, science and social studies. The students come here as boys and leave as men.

New graniteand gold leaf school seal in front of the main entrance and lobby. Donated by alumnus Brian Hall. (Courtesy/Lou Tobacco)

Vir Fidelis meaning the faithful man is the schools long-standing motto, serving both as a summation of a Farrell education and a life-long challenge to each Farrell student. Priding itself on providing a premier Catholic education and well-rounded experience of extracurricular activities, college placement and community service, the school recently implemented a tradition of handing out a Challenge Coin to each incoming freshman. Tobacco says the military-inspired ritual is supposed to remind the boys to be faithful 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year a sentiment which is etched on the back of the coin.

Theyre told to keep it on their person at all times, in their pocket or their backpack, Tobacco said. It serves as a reminder to challenge themselves every day and to be the best they can be.

When appointed president, it was modern ideas like these that Tobacco was quick to implement. Hitting the ground running, he immediately worked to secure a Con Edison partnership for the school, an alliance which allows Farrell to save on their electricity costs while supporting local solar power development. He turned the campus green, replacing porcelain drinking fountains with energy efficient refill stations and started the installation of a phased, school-wide air conditioning replacement. In his first 12 months of leadership, a good portion of which was disturbed by quarantine and COVID, Tobacco got things done.

When COVID hit and schools closed, we had a choice, he said. We could have canceled everything; in fact the easy thing wouldve been to just say no. But we persisted. We took advantage of the six months we had with no students on campus and completely changed the building for the better.

Born and raised on Staten Island, Tobacco graduated from Farrell in 1990, four years after his brother, Dominic. He attended SUNY Albany and graduated from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.

He started his career in public service in 1994 as the assistant director of Contract Oversight in the office of the Staten Island Borough President, where he also served as the director of community relations from 1996 to 1997. Tobacco then worked in pharmaceutical sales, first with Novartis and then Pfizer Inc., for 13 years. In 2007, he was elected to the New York State Assembly, where he served three consecutive terms, representing the 62nd legislative district.

After retiring from the Assembly he became the associate executive director of community and government affairs for Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health. He also held the titles of senior director of external affairs, as well as director of surgical business development at the hospital.

When Monsignor Edmund Whalen, who served as Farrells first alumnus principal from 2010 until 2019, was elevated to the position of Vicar for Clergy by Cardinal Dolan, Tobacco was called up to fill in a new spot on the schools roster. For the first time in its history Farrell transitioned to a president/principal philosophy, which has emerged as a popular form of school governance over the past decade. Aligned around two distinct leadership profiles - the outward-facing entrepreneur and institution builder (president), and the inward-facing academician and champion of teaching, learning, and best practice (principal) the model rested the job of endowment and improvement on Tobaccos shoulders.

Under the schools new structure, Tobacco joined Larry Musanti, who was named principal of Farrell in 2019. Musanti, who has taught at the school for five decades, shares Tobaccos vision.

This school is rich in history, noted Musanti, who began teaching chemistry at Farrell in 1970 and has worn many hats there since. Formerly serving as an assistant principal, dean of students and baseball coach, the dedicated educator is currently focused on advancing the school forward.

Its difficult to top our past successes, but with all of these improvements, Farrells best days are yet to come, Musanti said.

The flooring is new, the lighting is energy efficient, the urinals are waterless and not one stick of chalk can be found in the classrooms (white boards are cleaner, safer, more environmentally friendly, Tobacco says). And the school is keenly focused on educating students with applicable knowledge teaching them skills and abilities that can be used in their future professions.

A cutting edge Anatomage Table, the most technically advanced virtual dissection table for anatomy education, was just installed in the Biology lab, allowing students to view the different systems of the body and watch how they function. State-of-the-art university grade microscopes and a dual-ecosystem marine-biology tank were also recently introduced.

The Anatomage Virtual Dissection Table. (Courtesy of Lou Tobacco)

If this inspires just one student to become a cardiologist then weve done our jobs, Tobacco said, pushing buttons on the impressive touch-screen table, switching the display from the musculoskeletal system to a detailed view of the heart. These are the same tools used in the top colleges and Universities throughout the country. By introducing our students to this we are giving them a true advantage.

Unique collaborations with Staten Island University Hospital Northwell Health, Engineering Tomorrow and the Billion Oyster Project are aimed at extending education beyond the campus giving students the opportunity of real-life experiences on-site at various major construction sites like the Bayonne Bridge and Amazon distribution centers. Farrell students are even given the opportunity to make rounds at SIUH and learn from top surgeons.

Theres also a Medical Education Development Institute, or MEDI, and a Pre-Med Society that gives students the opportunity to complete volunteer hours at SIUH, allowing them to shadow different departments of the hospital and participate in an ER to the classroom experience. The entire student body is also exposed to guest lectures that open them up to a variety of careers in the field of medicine.

Chemistry Lab. (Courtesy/Lou Tobacco) - .

Brand new computers were installed in the schools third-floor computer lab, allowing AP Computer Science, AutoCAD, and Video Game Programming courses access to some of the fastest hardware available. Students can quickly sketch 3D structures in AutoCAD and then print them using a 3D printer.

Weve chosen to innovate in areas that best serve our students' interests, Tobacco said. Many of our graduates go on to study engineering so weve placed great importance on our science and mathematics departments. But this technology weve introduced serves all students across the board.

A Video Game Programming class allows students to design and code virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) games and applications. AP Computer Science students can code more highly advanced algorithms, such as using computer vision for facial recognition programs. An E-sports competitive gaming elective has already yielded significant scholarship money for students.

Theres a high-tech television studio in the East Wing of the school, accompanied by a brand new state-of-the-art communications center where all of Farrells digital and print publications will be produced. The brand new Brother Henry S. Wright Learning Commons, a multi-use seminar and research space that provides access to several educational databases, will soon be the setting for a lecture series that virtually invites college professors from all over the country into the Farrell class schedule.

Farrells WFBN-TV. (Courtesy/Lou Tobacco)

Our teachers were tasked with finding their collegial counterpart at a college or university somewhere in the U.S. in a sort of pen-pal type exchange, Tobacco said. They will then virtually bring their newfound colleague/friend to speak in class. Our first such lecture will feature an English professor from Pepperdine University.

For Tobacco, its just one of the innovative steps that he and his staff have taken to propel Monsignor Farrell High School into the future.

For these young men Farrell is the introduction to collegiate and then professional life, Tobacco said as he concluded the tour in Farrells breezeway, now home to a Bocce Complex that features five regulation-size courts.

We hope to have reunions and other gatherings here, he concluded, clutching a Vir Fidelis folder under one arm, a proud grin evident underneath his mask. Were making these improvements for our students and families and for our strong network of alumni too. Brotherhood runs deep at this school, it always has. And this campaign supports everyone who has ever walked these halls, every member of Farrells past, present and future.

(Jessica Jones-Gorman is a freelance writer based on Staten Island and former fashion editor for the Staten Island Advance.)

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As Monsignor Farrell enters its 60th year, the school turns a corner, modernizing its facility and curriculum - SILive.com