A Warm Welcome to New Faculty, Administrators, and Staff
<<Districtwide>>
Tara Bauer
Elementary Literacy Staff Developer, Midland, Milton, and Osborn schools
Last year, Ms. Bauer worked as an Academic Intervention Services teacher at Osborn School. Before coming to Rye, Ms. Bauer worked as a small group teacher and a general and special education teacher at P.S. 158, Bayard Taylor School, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She was selected as a model teacher for the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.
Ms. Bauer received a B.A. cum laude in Sociology with a minor in Education from UMASS Amherst and an M.A. in General and Special Education from NYU.
Dr. Letitia Payne
Supervisor of Secondary Special Education
For the past 16 years, Dr. Payne chaired the Response to Intervention Team at Anne M. Dorner Middle School in Ossining. She has been a special education teacher since 2002.
Dr. Payne has a B.A. in English and a Master of Professional Studies in English and Special Education, a Professional Diploma in Educational Leadership, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, all from Manhattanville College. In addition, she holds an M.S. in Literacy and Learning in the Content from Walden University.
Katie Wears
Elementary Literacy Staff Developer, Midland, Milton, and Osborn Schools
Ms. Wears worked previously in the Chappaqua Central School District as a Staff Developer for Literacy and Social Studies and as a Staff Developer for the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. She began her career as a kindergarten and then first grade classroom teacher.
Ms. Wears has a B.S. in Business Administration from Clarkson University, an M.S. in Teaching, Elementary Education, from SUNY Potsdam, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration from SUNY Brockport.
<<Rye High School>>
Kristen DiMatteo
Special Education
Ms. DiMatteo comes from Union Square Academy for Health Science in New York City, where she was a special education teacher for grades 9-12. Previously, she was a U.S. History and Language Arts Special Educator at the Equality Charter School in Bronx, NY.
She received a B.A. in Psychology, an M.A. in Childhood Education, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Childhood Special Education, all from Adelphi University.
Clare Gilroy
Science/Special Education
Ms. Gilroy worked previously as a leave replacement Biology teacher at Wallkill Senior High School, and as a substitute teacher in the Clarkstown Central School District.
She has a B.A. <cum laude> in Biology with a minor in Education from Binghamton University and an M.A. in Teaching for Biology from Binghamton University’s Graduate School of Education. She recently became certified to teach students with disabilities.
James Goldmann
English Language Arts
Mr. Goldman comes from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, where he was an English Language Arts teacher for the past six years. Previously, he was a First Grade Special Education Teacher’s Aide at Fox Meadow Elementary School in Scarsdale and a Homebound English Tutor in the Scarsdale Union Free School District.
He has a B.S. in English from SUNY Oneonta and a Master of Education in Middle Childhood and Adolescence Education: English from Long Island University-Hudson.
Marissa Kroger
Biology/Chemistry
Previously a leave replacement Chemistry and Honors Living Environment teacher and Freshman Class Advisor at Rye High School, she joins the School District as a Biology and Chemistry teacher. Prior to coming to Rye, she was a leave replacement science teacher in the Carmel Central School District.
Ms. Kroger has a B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Manhattan College and an M.S. in Education from Mercy College.
Drew Stierhoff
Social Studies
Mr. Stierhoff comes to Rye from the Newfield School District and the Watkins Glen Central School District, where he completed his student teaching. He has a B.A. cum laude in Social Studies with a Teaching Option from Ithaca College.
Jennifer Turoff
Foreign Language (American Sign Language)
Ms. Turoff comes from the Red Hook and the Hyde Park Central School Districts in Duchess County, where she taught ASL and Deaf Studies to grades 9-12.
She has a B.A. cum laude in Dance from Adelphi University and an M.S. in Deaf Education from CUNY Hunter. She is a Nationally Certified Sign Language Interpreter and has worked as an ASL Interpreter in the Hudson Valley area on a freelance basis since 1999.
Rye School of Leadership
Melissa Marsden
Math/Special Education
She began her teaching career as a substitute teacher in the Carmel Central and Irvington School Districts. Ms. Marsden comes from Carmel High School, where she was a Math and Special Education/Math leave replacement teacher.
Ms. Marden has a B.A. in Mathematics Education and a Master of Professional Studies in Special Education degree, both from Manhattanville College.
<<Rye Middle School>>
Richard Gelles
Foreign Language (French)
For the past four years, Mr. Gelles taught French at Scarsdale High School. Prior to becoming a teacher, he was a real estate attorney and partner at Tuchman, Korngold, Weiss, Liebman & Gelles, LLP in New York.
Mr. Gelles has a B.A. in History from Stanford University, a Master of Education degree from the University of Vermont, and a J.D. from the Benjamin Cardoza School of Law. He is a certified French and Spanish teacher.
Su Liu
Foreign Language (Mandarin)
Ms. Liu comes from the Greenburgh Central School District in Hartsdale, where she worked as an elementary school Mandarin teacher. Previously, she taught Chinese language and literature to high school students at EF Academy International Baccalaureate School in Thornwood.
She received a B.A. in English from the Sichuan Normal University and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Sichuan University, both in Chengdu, China, and an M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language/TESOL from New York University. She spent a year as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant at Wake Forest University.
Allison Schoenfeld
Special Education
Ms. Schoenfeld comes from P.S. 83, Donald Hertz School in the Bronx, where she worked as a 7th grade Special Education teacher. Previously, she worked for six years as a middle school special education teacher at P.S. 207, Elizabeth G. Leary, in Brooklyn.
She has a B.A. with a Major in Speech and Hearing Science from SUNY Buffalo and an M.S. in Education with a Major in Childhood and Childhood Special Education from St. John’s University.
Tyler Schwirian
Music, Middle School Band
Most recently, Mr. Schwirian worked as a student teacher at New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math, a school for gifted and talented students in lower Manhattan. He has also taught at the KIPP Infinity Charter School in New York City.
His extensive performance career includes playing the tuba with the Louisville Orchestra, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and the Johnstown Symphony. Since 2017, he has served as the Brass Caption Head at the DCI Raiders Drum and Bugle Corps.
Mr. Schwirian holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (cum laude) from Carnegie Mellon University, a Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music, and a Master of Education from Columbia University Teachers College.
<<Midland School>>
Amanda Bohan
Speech Language Therapist
Ms. Bohan comes to Midland School from the Morris Street Elementary School and the Western Academy of International Studies, both in Danbury, CT, where she worked as a Speech Language Pathologist for students grades Pre-K to 5.
She has a B.A. in Speech Language Pathology magna cum laude from Iona College and a M.S. in Communication Disorders from Mercy College.
<<Milton School>>
Annemarie Piekarski
Assistant Principal
Ms. Piekarski comes from Westorchard Elementary School in Chappaqua, where she was also the Assistant Principal. Previously, she taught at Roaring Brook Elementary School in Chappaqua, and third grade at P.S. 18, John Peter Zenger School, in the Bronx.
She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Scranton, an M.A. in Literacy Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Master’s in Administration from Bank Street Graduate School of Education.
<<Osborn School>>
Nathan Brewster
Music
Mr. Brewster comes to Osborn School from the Springhurst School in Dobbs Ferry, where he was the fifth grade Band Director. Previously, he was a general music teacher at Scarsdale Middle School.
A freelance percussionist who performs with the Westchester Symphonic Winds and the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Brewster has a B.A. in Music from SUNY Geneseo and a Master of Music in Percussion Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
Katy Buderman
Special Education
Ms. Buderman worked for six years in Special Education teacher support services at P.S. 199, Jessie Isador Strauss School, in Manhattan. Previously, she worked at P.S. 3, Bedford Village School, in Brooklyn as a Collaborative Team Teaching 2nd grade Special Education teacher and a Self-Contained 3rd Grade Special Education teacher.
She has a B.S. summa cum laude in Elementary and Special Education from Towson University, and a Master’s in Advanced Preparation in Learning Disabilities and an Advanced Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) both from Hunter College.
Jamie Falco
School Psychologist
Ms. Falco comes from the George Washington Elementary School in the Lakeland Central School District, where she was a leave replacement School Psychologist for the past school year. She has also been a leave replacement school psychologist at the Greenvale and Waverly Schools in the Eastchester Union Free School District.
She has a B.A. in Psychology with a Minor in Educational Psychology from SUNY Oneonta and an M.A. in School Psychology from Iona College.
Christina Monitto
Academic Intervention Services/Special Education
For the past three years, Ms. Monitto worked as the head teacher in a 3rd grade integrated co-teaching classroom at P.S. 267, East Side Elementary School, in Manhattan. Previously, she was a head teacher for first and third grades at P.S. 6, Lillie Deveraux Blake School, also in New York.
Ms. Monitto received a B.A. in Childhood Education and an M.S. in Special Education (Learning Disabilities), both from the CUNY Hunter College School of Education, and a Master of Education degree in School Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Lisa Needleman
Special Education
Ms. Needleman comes from Haldane Elementary school in Cold Spring, where she was a special education integrated co-teacher for 1st and 4th grades. Previously, she was a learning specialist leave replacement at Mount Kisco Elementary School and a special education teacher at P.S. 20, The Magnet School for Multicultural Education.
She has a B.S. in Childhood Education from SUNY Cortland and an M.A. in Special Education from NYU.
John Wells
Interim Assistant Principal
Mr. Wells, a former music teacher, will serve as Osborn’s interim Assistant Principal for the start of the 2018-19 school year. He was a principal in the Yorktown Central School District for over 16 years. He retired in 2012 from Yorktown and has been serving in interim roles throughout the area, most recently as the interim Assistant Principal at Dows Lane Elementary School in Irvington.
