One of the four strands of Town's Long Range Plan is "Teaching and Learning Excellence," and our faculty and staff are always striving to be at the top of their game in service of our students. This includes professional development, completing advanced degrees and certifications, being appointed to boards and conference committees, and showcasing their work outside of school. Below are just a few examples of the recent professional accomplishments of our faculty and staff.
Joe Badion (4th-8th Grade Music) and Madison Conkle (Upper School Math) are members of the MasterVoices Choir and, as part of a large chorus that included the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, sang to a live orchestral screening of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) at Radio City Music Hall in February 2024.
Douglas Brophy (Head of School) was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Guild of New York City Independent Schools. He was also appointed to a second term as Vice President of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue.
In addition to her teaching duties in 2024-25, Azalia Garcia (Kindergarten) has joined the Admissions team as the Admissions Outreach Coordinator. As Admissions Outreach Coordinator, she will work on fostering connections with preschools/organizations across the city by attending school fairs, meeting with preschool personnel, and broadening our overall outreach.
In spring 2024, Karen Grenke (Librarian) hosted a special interview with author and illustrator of the beloved Otis the Tractor series, Loren Long. They discussed his soon-to-be published picture book The Yellow Bus. The interview was part of School Library Journal's "Day of Dialog," a virtual event on Thursday, May 23. Ms. Grenke is also completing a two-year term as Co-Chair of the NYSAIS Education, Information, & Technology (NEIT) Committee and is a Founding Committee Member of the HVLA Sora Consortium.
Juliette Guarino Berg (Lower School Science) was awarded the Brunschwig-Karplus Award for Excellence in STEM Teaching and Community Leadership. This award was created "to shine light on individual teachers whose dedication to the learning and growth of both students and colleagues has and continues to in equal measure support the growth of our community and the elevation of the profession."
Viorica Morris-Stan's (Lower School Art) artwork was showcased at four gallery shows recently: CREATE Council for the Arts in Hudson, New York; Opus 40 in Saugerties, NY; The Dutch Barn Gallery, in Saugerties, NY; and the 22nd Annual Saugerties Artists Tour.
Kristen Pedersen (Nursery-Kindergarten & Lower School Learning Specialist) completed her Master of Arts (MA) in Educational Leadership from Montclair State University in August, 2023.
Maria Robilotto (School Nurse) became a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN). Awarded by the National Board for Certification of School Nurses, this credential exemplifies that a school nurse has passed a "rigorous national credentialing process to validate practice competency based on professional standards."
Marjorie Vereen (5th & 6th Grade Science, Director of Sustainability) was part of the Children's Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF) cohort for Civic Science. Through this cohort she collaborated monthly via Zoom with peers from around the country to create a civic science community project. She devised the Street Tree Care project for sixth grade, a cross-curricular project between math and science and also included six graders' first-grade buddies. She was also awarded a $500 grant from CELF to purchase the needed supplies for the project (gloves, hand cultivators, and kneeling pads). The final product is a short video of the project that was presented at the CELF Spring Symposium in May. They also highlighted her as a Sustainability Superstar on their social media platforms.