Twelve GCSD employees honored, applauded

GUILDERLAND — For the 31st year, the school board here honored some of its most outstanding workers, nominated by their colleagues and selected by a committee of their peers.

Twelve employees were honored last Tuesday night, half of them teachers.

The assistant superintendent for human resources, Susan Tangorre, quoted from Helen Keller as she addressed the meeting hall filled with proud friends and family members of the award recipients.

The best and most beautiful things in the world aren’t to be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart,” she quoted, adding, “Thanks for touching us.”

The crowd rose to its feet and applauded.

The dynamic dozen are:

— Donna Amato, a first-grade teacher at Guilderland Elementary School for 15 years, lauded for her “unwavering patience and enthusiasm”;

— Wayne Bertrand, the district’s athletic director, praised for his passion to help others succeed;

— Sheila Elario, districtwide art supervisor, who was commended for “maintaining the high standards of the Guilderland art program”;

— Jennifer Graffeo, a keyboard specialist at Westmere Elementary School, who has worked as a library clerk and nurse’s office aid and who helped this year to carry on the library program after the death of the school’s beloved librarian Micki Nevett;

—  Jeff Gregory, computer technician at Guilderland High School for nine years, who was praised for his guidance and expertise, delivered “in a friendly and cooperative manner”;

— Audrey Jurcznski, a teacher at Pine Bush Elementary School,  who was lauded as “a model teacher and learner”;

— Linda Livingston, a secretary in the district office, praised for her “outstanding work ethic, skills, and calm demeanor”;

— Catherine Pickett, a teacher at Pine Bush Elementary School, about whom it was said, “Through warmth, caring, and humor, she builds a strong rapport with each and every child in her classroom and uses these connections to advocate for her students and to help them succeed”;

— JoAnn Pommer, teaching assistant at Altamont Elementary School for eight years, who works with special-needs students; her principal said she has “a heart as big as the school for the children”;

— Emily Spooner-Smith, a teacher at Guilderland Elementary School, whom, it was said, daily “personifies respect, personal responsibility, teamwork, and concern for others”;

— Christine vanAlstyne, a language-arts teacher at Westmere Elementary School, praised for her “compassion and leadership” and for her kindness, unwavering support, and great sense of humor; and

— Jocelyn Zimmerman, a teacher at Lynnwood Elementary School for over 15 years, who was lauded for her “boundless talent, creativity, dedication, and compassion.”

Other business

In other business at recent meetings, the school board:

— Unanimously approved a three-year contract with the seven school principals and the special-education administrator; each of them works a 12-month year. The contract runs through the 2010-11 school year with a 3.75-percent increase for each year.

Currently, the principals’ salaries range from $95,000 to $120,000.

The contract, which was ratified unanimously by both the school board and the principals, keeps the salaries “in the middle” of the Suburban Council, according to Tangorre.

The only other change in the contract, Tangorre said, is the number of years until a principal is eligible for health insurance at retirement was reduced from 10 to eight.

“The reality is sometimes, you want a principal who’s a veteran with experience,” and this will help attract them, said Tangorre;

— Authorized CSArch to develop cost estimates for potential construction work at Farnsworth Middle School at a cost not to exceed $2,000;

— Heard from Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Nancy Andress that sixth-grader Zubin Mukerjee and his brother, junior Zagreb Mukerjee, both won second place in the state History Day competition. Zubin wrote a paper on J. Robert Oppenheimer and Zagreb wrote a paper on the conflict and compromises surrounding the division of Pakistan. Both of them will compete on the national level in June.

Other Farnsworth Middle School students who competed at the state level, all guided by advisor Deb Escobar, were eighth-grader Samina Hydery, who presented a documentary on Wounded Knee 1973; sixth-graders Michelle Kange and Michelle Saucedo-Arenas who produced a documentary on Cesar Chavez, and Lian Henderson who presented a website on the wolves of Yellowstone Park;

— Learned that eight juniors — Casey Doak, Alex Metzger, Zagreb Mukerjee, Erich Reimer, Elizabeth Simon, Jeremy Simon, Galen Stevens, and Yipu Wang — met the requirements to enter the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program;

— Heard a suggestion from board member Colleen O’Connell to get a “real jump on next year’s budget” and consider adopting a point-of-service system where students use debit-like cards to purchase lunches and pay for items like yearbooks and field trips; and

— Met in executive session for a negotiation update.