New Teacher Snapshot Profiles
Huntington School Board members approved the appointment of several new teachers during the trustees’ August 26 meeting. A structured hiring process was utilized, including the pre-screening of candidates prior to formal interviews being granted.
The new teachers include:
Virginia Mallia
Virginia Mallia has been hired to teach Spanish at Huntington High School. She obtained a BA degree in cultural students/Spanish language and literature at Empire State College in May 2007 and earned an MA in teaching at Stony Brook University in August 2010.
Ms. Mallia completed her student teaching requirements at Stimson Middle School and Huntington High School in the 2010 spring semester. Prior to coming to Huntington she worked as a permanent substitute teacher in Syosset, as a leave replacement teacher in Lynbrook, as a substitute teacher in Jericho and as permanent building substitute teacher in Copiague.
District officials reviewed 100 applications, conducted 10 pre-screenings and interviewed five candidates prior to recommending Ms. Mallia for appointment.
Adam Sherrard
Adam Sherrard has been hired to teach physical education and health at Huntington High School. He earned a BS degree in education from SUNY Cortland in May 2006 and obtained an MA in education at Trident University in May 2010. He earned nine credits over the summer at SUNY Oswego.
Mr. Sherrard taught elementary and middle school physical education in the Smithtown Central School District from 2007 through June 2013. He was also on the faculty of James McHenry Elementary School in Prince George’s County, Maryland in 2006/07 as a physical education teacher.
District officials reviewed 50 applications, conducted 14 pre-screenings and interviewed three candidates prior to recommending Mr. Sherrard for appointment.
Tara Fisher
Tara Fisher has been hired to teach special education at Huntington High School. She earned a BA degree in child study at St. Joseph’s College in 2002 and an MS in literacy at Long Island University-Southampton College in 2008.
Ms. Fisher has worked as a substitute teacher in the William Floyd School District, as a student intern in the C.W. Post College Reading & Learning Center and as a special education teacher in the Lake Grove School from October 2008 through August 2013.
District officials reviewed 30 applications, conducted 15 pre-screenings and interviewed nine candidates prior to recommending Ms. Fisher for appointment.
Jessica Rivera
Jessica Rivera has been hired to work as a dual language program teacher at Woodhull Intermediate School. She obtained a BS degree at SUNY Old Westbury in childhood education with a special education and bilingual extensions in 2012.
Ms. Rivera completed her student teaching requirements at Brentwood East Middle School and Cordello Elementary School in Central Islip in the 2012 spring semester. She has been teaching special education at PS 1 in New York since September 2012.
District officials reviewed 43 applications, conducted 35 pre-screenings and interviewed 12 candidates prior to recommending Ms. Rivera for appointment.
Donna Mazur
Donna Mazur has been hired to work as a librarian at Woodhull Intermediate School and Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School. She obtained a BS degree in elementary education at SUNY Old Westbury in December 1988 and an MS in library and information science at Long Island University in May 2010.
Ms. Mazur worked in Lindenhurst as an elementary classroom teacher from 1988 to 1999, at Crestdale Middle School in North Carolina as a reading, science and math teacher from 1999 to 2004, in West Islip as an elementary library classroom teacher and in the alternative high school program from 2008 to 2010 and in Smithtown as a library media specialist from 2010 to 2013.
District officials reviewed 25 applications, conducted 12 pre-screenings and interviewed seven candidates prior to recommending Ms. Mazur for appointment.
Michelle Wenz
Michelle Wenz has been hired to teach math at Huntington High School and J. Taylor Finley Middle School. She earned a BA degree in math at Queens College in May 2013. She was a TIME four-year scholarship recipient.
Ms. Lenz completed her student teaching requirements at Elmont Memorial High School. She worked as a ninth grade honors algebra and tenth grade geometry tutor from January 2009 through May 2013.
District officials reviewed 24 applications, conducted eight pre-screenings and interviewed five candidates prior to recommending Ms. Wenz for appointment.
Matthew Liguori
Matthew Liguori has been hired to teach science at J. Taylor Finley Middle School. He earned a BA degree in Earth science and an MA degree in science education, both at Stony Brook University in May 2013.
Mr. Liguori completed his student teacher requirements at Mount Sinai High School and Selden Middle School in the spring 2013 semester. He worked as a leave replacement Earth science teacher at Bay Shore High School in May and June 2013.
District officials reviewed 23 applications, conducted 12 pre-screenings and interviewed five candidates prior to recommending Mr. Liguori for appointment.
Susan Nastro
Susan Nastro has been hired to teach English at J. Taylor Finley Middle School. She obtained a BA degree in English at Stony Brook University in 2008 and a Master of Arts in Teaching/English education at Stony Brook in 2011.
Ms. Nastro has worked as a substitute teacher and leave replacement teacher in Hauppauge and as a substitute teacher in Middle Country. She was a long term substitute teacher at Finley last year.
District officials reviewed 25 applications, conducted 12 pre-screenings and interviewed four candidates prior to recommending Ms. Nastro for appointment.
Yesenia Cortes
Yesenia Cortes has been hired to work as a long-term substitute dual language program teacher at Jefferson Primary School. She earned a BS degree in elementary education at SUNY Old Westbury in December 1988 and a MS degree in library and information science at Long Island University in May 2010.
Ms. Cortes has worked as a teacher’s aide at Southdown Primary School since 2002. She completed her student teaching requirements last spring in Westbury and worked as a teacher in this year’s St. John’s summer program.
District officials reviewed 20 applications, conducted eight pre-screenings and interviewed six candidates prior to recommending Ms. Cortes for appointment.