Rye City School District (RCSD) recently onboarded new administrators, teachers, and staff members in time for the 2025-2026 school year. Additionally, some district and school administrators were given new roles and titles. Get to know them by reading their bios below.
Districtwide
Administrators
Seth Busching, Director of School Counseling and Student Wellness
Busching is taking on the new role of Director of Counseling and Student Wellness. Busching is responsible for overseeing the district’s 12 school counselors: six at RHS, three at RMS, and one at each of the elementary schools. He also leads the district’s social-emotional education efforts.
Busching was previously a house principal at New Rochelle High School for six years. Prior to working in New Rochelle, he was assistant dean and then dean of students and school culture at the Antonia Pantoja Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, N.Y. Before becoming an administrator, he taught English, grades 7 through 12, and was a team leader for five years.
Busching has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stony Brook University and a Master of Arts in liberal studies from Queens College.
Joseph DiGiovanni, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Leadership
Joseph (Joe) DiGiovanni is well-known to many in Rye, having served as RMS’s principal from 2020 through 2025. Before that, he was assistant principal from 2014 through 2020.
Prior to coming to Rye, DiGiovanni was assistant principal and humanities coordinator at Hendrick Hudson High School in Montrose, N.Y. Before working at Hendrick Hudson, he taught 7th-, 8th-, and 9th-grade social studies for 10 years at Fieldstone Middle School in the North Rockland Central School District. He began his career as a high school social studies teacher in the Warwick Valley Central School District.
DiGiovanni has a Bachelor of Science in sociology from SUNY Oswego, a Master of Science in instructional technology from the New York Institute of Technology, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in educational administration from SUNY New Paltz.
Lauren Santabarbara, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Lauren Santabarbara takes on this role after her successor, Dr. Tricia Murray, was named the superintendent of schools. Santabarbara will assume her position on Sept. 3, 2025.
Santabarbara comes to Rye from Carmel Central School District, where she served as the assistant superintendent of instruction from 2022 through 2025. In Carmel, she oversaw K-12 instruction for nearly 3,700 students and professional learning for over 700 faculty and staff. Before becoming assistant superintendent, she spent two years as principal of Carmel High School. Prior to that, she was assistant principal for seven years.
Santabarbara began her career as a high school English teacher at Essex Street Academy on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and then at Pearl River High School.
Santabarbara holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Scranton and a Master of Arts in secondary English instruction from NYU.
Dr. Erin Vredenburgh, Assistant Superintendent for Special Education
Prior to accepting this role, Dr. Erin Vredenburgh was the district’s director of pupil personnel services and special education since 2019. In that role, she led the department in providing support for students and families. Her new title reflects her responsibility and level of oversight across the district and acknowledges her performance, leadership capacity, and subject-matter expertise in the area of pupil personnel services and special education.
Before coming to Rye, Vredenburgh spent seven years as the director of special education for the Dobbs Ferry School District. Previously, she served as special education coordinator in Hyde Park Central School District and as a secondary special education math teacher. Vredenburgh has a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and a Master of Science in secondary special education, both from Mount Saint Mary’s College. She earned her Doctor of Education degree (Ed.D.) from St. John’s University.
Staff
Samantha Godino, ENL Leave Replacement
Samantha Godino comes to Rye to teach English as a New Language (ENL) at Milton and Osborn schools from the Hendrick Hudson School District, where she was a special education teaching assistant.
Previously, Godino spent three years as a third-grade leave replacement teacher and permanent substitute teacher in the Lakeland Central School District. Godino has a Bachelor of Science in elementary and early childhood education from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Science in childhood education from Mercy College.
Emily Wagner, Library Media Specialist
Emily Wagner comes to oversee the high school and middle school media center, having come from the Patchogue Medford High School in Suffolk County on Long Island, where she worked as a leave replacement/substitute library aide.
Previously, Wagner worked as a children’s department librarian trainee at the Patchogue-Medford Public Library. She began her career in education as a special education classroom aide at the New Interdisciplinary School in Yaphank, N.Y. She has a Bachelor of Arts in history from SUNY Oswego and a master’s degree in school librarianship from SUNY Buffalo.
Rye High School
Administrators
Dr. Cody Blume, Assistant Principal
Dr. Cody Blume is already familiar to many in Rye, having spent almost a decade in the RCSD, first at RMS, then at RHS. He came to RMS in 2016 as a social studies teacher, later serving as the department coordinator, before moving to RHS to teach social studies in 2024.
For the past two years, Blume has served as the international baccalaureate programme coordinator for the high school. Blume began his career as a high school social studies teacher in the Mamaroneck Union Free School District.
Blume has a Bachelor of Arts in history and secondary education and a Master of Arts in history, both from St. John’s University, a Master of Science in guidance and counseling from the College of New Rochelle, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville University. His doctoral dissertation was on the influence of active learning environments and 21st-century skill development on student self-efficacy.
Teachers
Kelly Ecroyd, Special Education
Kelly Ecroyd comes to Rye High School from the Bronx Health Sciences High School, where she worked as a special education teacher for four years. At Bronx Health Sciences, she provided small group and one-on-one instruction, designed and implemented IEPs, and taught classes in history, English, math, and life skills. She has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from CUNY York College and a Master of Arts in special education from CUNY Lehman College.
Brandon Farewell, Social Studies
Farewell comes to RHS from LaFayette Junior/Senior High School in Lafayette, N.Y., where he recently completed his student teaching. Since 2024, he has served as a substitute teacher at Rye Middle School. He also worked as a substitute teacher at the Port Chester middle and high schools. Farewell has a Bachelor of Science in adolescent education and social studies from SUNY Cortland.
Jennifer Mohr-Bosciano, Leave Replacement Biology
Jennifer Mohr-Bosciano comes to RHS from Yorktown High School, where she spent the last year as a leave replacement chemistry teacher. Prior to working in Yorktown, she taught an introduction to biology class as a leave replacement science teacher at the Louis M. Klein Middle School in Harrison, N.Y. Ms. Mohr-Bosciano has a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of California, Irvine.
Michael O’Mahoney, Leave Replacement Spanish
Michael Mahoney comes to RHS from the Blind Brook-Rye Union Free School District, where he worked as a high school Spanish and Italian leave replacement teacher. Previously, he worked as a substitute teacher in Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District. He has a Bachelor of Science in world language education and Spanish from Pennsylvania State University.
Caitlin Schmidt, Social Studies/International Baccalaureate Business Management
CaitlinSchmidt comes to RHS from Wilton, Conn., public schools, where she taught high school business and history for six years and served as an instructional leader for four. Prior to teaching in Wilton, she spent three years teaching high school business and history for three years in Cheshire, Conn., public schools.
Schmidt is an adjunct instructor at Sacred Heart University. She has a Bachelor of Science in economics and a master’s degree in secondary education, both from Utica University.
AJ Thompson, Leave Replacement Special Education
AJ Thompson is already well known at Rye High School, having served as a substitute teacher and test proctor at the high school for the past two years. He also served as the head J.V. coach to the RHS basketball program since 2018, head offensive and defensive line coach, J.V. head coach, and recruiting coordinator for the RHS football program since 2019.
Thompson has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Fordham University and a Master of Science in adolescent education grades 7-12 and special education from the University of Mount Saint Vincent. He is a graduate of Rye High School.
Staff
Elizabeth Saporito, Leave Replacement School Counselor
Elizabeth (Liz) Saporito comes to Rye High School from St. Barnabas High School in the Bronx, N.Y., where she worked as a school counselor for 13 years. Before working at St. Barnabas, she was the 11th-grade advisor at South Bronx Preparatory High School. She has a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Fairfield University and a Master of Arts in school counseling from Manhattan College.
Rye Middle School
Administrators
Nicholas Clair, Principal
Nicholas (Nick) Clair, is already well-known at Rye Middle School and throughout the district. For the past year, he served as the assistant principal at RMS, becoming interim principal in July.
From 2022 through 2024, Clair was the district’s high school and middle school instructional coach. In that role, he designed and facilitated professional learning for RMS and RHS teachers. He wrote curriculum, designed specialized learning experiences in collaboration with teachers, and worked with the Special Education Department’s Building Bridges Program to provide co-teaching instruction.
Before coming to Rye, Clair completed an administrator internship at F.D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, N.Y. He began his teaching career as a high school mathematics teacher at F.D. Roosevelt and then at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, N.Y.
Clair holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics education from Hartwick College, a Master of Science in curriculum, instruction, and assessment from Walden University, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in administration from Stony Brook University.
Teachers
Christopher Yackel, Special Education, Social Studies, and ELA
Christopher (Chris) Yackel, comes to RMS from Eastchester Middle School, where he spent the past school year as a special education teaching assistant. Previously, he worked as a permanent substitute teacher and as a special education life skills teaching assistant at Valley Stream South School.
Yackel has a Bachelor of Arts in broadcasting and mass communication from SUNY Oswego and a Master of Science in education, adolescent education: social studies from Molloy University.
Midland School
Teachers
Meagan Kelly, Special Education Co-Teacher Fifth Grade
Meagan Kelly comes to Midland School from The School of Science and Applied Learning in the Bronx, N.Y., where she worked as a special education teacher since 2014.
Before working in the Bronx, Kelly was a substitute special education teacher and tutor for grades K-8 at the Villa Maria Education Center in Stamford, Conn. Kelly worked as a special education teacher’s aide at Milton School from 2010-2012 and then again briefly in 2013. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English and psychology from Georgetown University and a Master of Science in teaching from the Fordham University Graduate School of Education. She was the valedictorian of the Rye High School class of 2006.
Kathleen Serratore, First Grade
Kathleen Serratore comes to Midland School from the Lakeland Central School District, where she taught kindergarten and first grade for the past six years.
Before teaching in Lakeland, she spent four years as a second-grade teacher at P.S. 32 the Belmont School in the Bronx, NY. She began her teaching career as a fourth-grade leave replacement teacher at Hutchinson Elementary School in Pelham, N.Y.
Serratore has a Bachelor of Science in early childhood/childhood education from SUNY Oneonta, a Master of Science in childhood special education from the College of New Rochelle, and a Master of Science in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
Emily Trupia, Physical Education
Emily Trupia is already a familiar face in Rye, having served as a leave replacement physical education teacher at Rye Middle School during the past school year. Trupia also served as the modified assistant coach for the boys and girls outdoor track & field team.
Before coming to Rye, Trupia was a substitute teacher and physical education student teacher at Brewster High School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in social work from Siena College and a Master of Science in physical education and sports pedagogy from Manhattanville University.
Milton School
Teachers
Valerie Perkins (Montano), Special Education
Valerie Perkins comes to Milton School from the Brookside Elementary School in Norwalk, Conn., where she spent the last four years as a second-grade teacher and as a second-grade general education co-teacher.
Before working at Brookside, Perkins was a fourth-grade co-teacher resident at Side by Side Charter School, also in Norwalk. She worked as a bilingual teaching assistant at Fairhaven Middle School in New Haven, Ridge Road Elementary School in North Haven, and La Paz Community School in Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica.
Perkins has a Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies, a Master of Arts in teaching, elementary education, and a Master of Science in special education, all from Quinnipiac University.
Staff
Dr. Janice Autera-Douglas, School Psychologist
Dr. Janice Autera-Douglas comes to Milton School from Purchase Elementary School in Harrison, where she has served as school psychologist for the past four years.
Previously, Autera-Douglas spent four years as a school psychologist and Committee on Special Education (CSE) chairperson at the Orchard School in Yonkers, N.Y. Autera-Douglas has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Manhattan University, an Master of Arts in educational psychology from Kean University, and a Doctorate of Psychology in Clinical and School Psychology, also from Kean University.
Osborn School
Teachers
Melissa Rosner, First Grade
Melissa (Lissy) Rosner comes to Osborn School from the River School in Manhattan, where she taught first and second grades for the past six years.
Previously, Rosner spent two years as a first-grade associate teacher at the Blue School in Manhattan and a year as a grades K-2 reading remediation teacher at the Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services at Teachers College, of Columbia University.
Rosner holds a Bachelor of Science in elementary education and a Bachelor of Science in students with moderate disabilities from Boston University and a Master of Arts in reading education from Teachers College at Columbia University.
