September 3 was Chatham Central School District’s Opening Conference Day for the 2024-25 school year! Along with giving our faculty an opportunity to collaborate with each other and prepare for the arrival of students, the day served to bring all District employees together to celebrate the start of another school year. Superintendent Andrew Kourt, on his first day at the helm, welcomed staff by sharing his vision of building a school community that our students are engaged and excited to be a part of, that our families and community are proud to be a part of, and in which our employees feel supported, trusted, and never want to leave.
The opening day ceremony also included remarks by Board of Education President Marianne Pierro, followed by our opening day tradition of recognizing new staff starting this year, faculty members who recently received tenure, and longevity awards for long-serving District employees.
Conferences continue September 4 and students arrive Thursday, September 5 for our first day of classes!
New Staff
Dana Ardovini - MED Speech & Language Teacher
Kelly Daino - MED Band Teacher
Michelle Summers - MED Teacher Aide
Brooke Hapeman - MED Physical Education Long-term Substitute Teacher
Courtney Hoffman - MED Teacher Aide
Jennifer Blumenthal - MED Special Education Teacher
Tracy Gelston - CHS/MED Orchestra/Strings Teacher
Kim Schuster - MED Food Service Helper
Sydney Johnson - CMS School Psychologist
Jeanne Lawrence - CMS Reading Teacher
Lauren Wrigley - CMS Special Education Teacher
Jonathan Kline - CMS English Long-term Substitute Teacher
Jennifer Metrando - CMS Band Teacher (transferred from TA position))
Judith French - CMS Teaching Assistant
Jordan McComb - CHS Special Education
Miles Wheat - CHS High School Principal
Wayne Gearing - CHS Science Long-term Substitute Teacher
Tyler Gebel - Public Library Page
Newly Tenured Faculty
Maggie Hamilton - MED Special Education
Laurie Jackson - CHS Teaching Assistant
James Dorato - CHS Teaching Assistant
Nino Cuzco - CMS Spanish
Martina Martin - MED Elementary Education
Sabrina Pravel - MED Remedial Reading
Sarah Casanova - MED Teaching Assistant
Sandra Miller - MED Remedial Reading
Longevity Awards
15 Years:
Ashley Keegan - CHS Teacher
Lauren Kral - MED Teacher
Sabrina Pravel - MED Teacher
Carrieann Sharpe - Bus Driver
Lindsay Ristau - MED Teacher
Barbara Fuss - CMS Teaching Assistant
Kristen Reno - MED Principal
20 Years:
Tracy Kelly - CHS Social Worker
Laurie Foster - CHS Special Education Teacher
Michael Stead - CMS Asst. Principal
Katharine Curtis - CHS Teacher
Antonio Justiniano, Jr. - Maintenance Custodian
Patricia Lillie - MED TA
Owen Poland - CHS Teacher
Patricia Mesick-Kiel - CMS Teaching Assistant
Kristine Mackowski - CMS Special Education Teacher
Jennifer Lynch - MED Teacher
25 Years:
Teri Howard - Payroll
Rebecca Klein - Public Library Library Clerk
Debi Layton - CHS Secretary
James Lombardi - CHS Counselor
Abigail Brownell - MED Teacher