Valley Stream 30 School District welcomed its newest staff members for new teacher orientation at the Washington Avenue Kindergarten Center from Aug. 24-26. Coordinated by Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Jennifer Lewner, the orientation period allowed the new staff members to get acclimated to the district.

On day one, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nicholas Stirling welcomed the newest staff members – Mackenzie Brown, Anne Davidson, Gabrielle DeJesus, Susana Gomez, Marie Loeffel, Marissa Miller, Mary O’Brien, Safa Sajjad, Jennifer Simon, Anna Tello, Darcel Toliver, Poullette Villalobos, Jake Winston and Kristen Zerbo – to the district. They also heard from Assistant Superintendent for Business Brian Phillips, Director of Special Services Dr. Nicole Schimpf and Director of Technology Christopher Onorato.

The new staff broke into three groups and rotated through different training sessions over the three-day period. Building administrators addressed the groups on topics such as utilizing technology, health and safety, lesson planning and observations, culturally responsive practices and literacy best practices. The orientation ended with classroom preparation as the staff prepared to take on the 2021-2022 school year.