FLUSHING — It’s probably a good thing Ronald Vallar is a history buff. After all, he’s a part of the history at Holy Cross High School.
It’s where he went to high school as a teenager and where he’s taught for 40 years. And at the age of 80, he has no plans to slow down.
Vallar, a graduate of Holy Cross (Class of 1962), teaches two history courses — European History and a course on World War I and World War II — at his alma mater.
Vallar also manages three of the school’s sports teams. Previously, he served as the assistant athletic director from 1985 to 1991 and as the athletic director from 1991 to 2013.
“My story is about what a great school Holy Cross is and how much Holy Cross meant to me as a student,” Vallar explained. “And because of what it meant to me as a student, I wanted to continue some sort of partnership with it.”
It’s a partnership that spans generations.
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To watch Vallar teach is to see someone with a depth of knowledge of his subject and an eagerness to share it with his students. On the day The Tablet visited, he was telling the class about the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and how it connected to Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign in France — jumping out of his chair several times to make a point.
Vallar said walking the halls of Holy Cross brings back memories.
“Of course, when I was here, the faculty was essentially all brothers. Occasionally, you had a lay teacher, but it was just all brothers,” he recalled, referring to the Congregation of Holy Cross, the religious order that sponsors the school. “I had a great four years.”
Today, the faculty is almost all lay teachers. The school is also co-ed, unlike 63 years ago. It welcomed its first female students in 2018.
As a student, Vallar was a trumpet player in the Holy Cross band. After graduating, he attended St. Francis College, earning a degree in European History. He went on to earn a master’s degree in the same subject at St. John’s University.
SILVER SURGE
The number of people aged 65 and older in the U.S. labor force has nearly doubled over the past 40 years.
1985: 10.8%
2024: 19.5%.
— Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Throughout college and graduate school, Vallar said he maintained close ties to Holy Cross. He volunteered to help with school events and fundraising.
In 1967, realizing that his love of education matched his love of history, he took a job at St. Pius X School in Rosedale, teaching seventh- and eighth-grade students.
“I was there for 18 years. I loved it,” he said.
But a phone call brought him back to Holy Cross.
“In 1985, the then principal of Holy Cross, whose name is Jim Lembo, said, ‘Would you like to begin a high school career? I’d love to have you.’ So, I came here to teach,” he recalled. Lembo had come to know Vallar through the latter’s work as a member of Holy Cross’ board of governors.
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Another invitation, this time from the school’s athletic director, led to his long association with the athletics department. “When I got here, Steve DeLuca, who was the athletic director, asked me to be his assistant,” he said. “Now, I didn’t really know much about athletics. But I learned over the years. He was a great teacher in terms of teaching me the ins and outs of being an administrator.”
These days, Vallar is still close to the athletics department.
“I like to say, I’ve adopted three teams. I call them my three adoptees,” Vallar said, explaining that he serves as moderator of the boys’ varsity basketball team, the girls’ varsity softball team, and the boys’ junior varsity soccer team.
“I keep my year filled with athletic events, which to me is very important, because it not only makes me keep going, but I love the kids that I deal with,” he said.
Vallar, who lives in Rockville Centre and is a parishioner of St. Agnes Cathedral, said his Catholic faith is an essential part of his life.
“And I’m a big believer in Catholic education,” he said, noting that’s why he continues to teach at age 80. “To me, age is just a number.”