By Rachel Kalina
On Aug. 30, an orientation was held to welcome these newest members of the Baldwin School District. Twenty-five new staff members have joined the Baldwin family, and repeatedly, principals, association presidents and faculty reiterated that a theme of support could be found not only in Baldwin¹s schools, but in its community as well.
³Students want to be challenged, but they also want to be supported,² Superintendent Robert Britto, who hosted the orientation, said.
Mary O¹Hagan, Board of Education President, agreed with Britto¹s sentiments.
³Everyone in a building can provide encouragement and support,² O¹Hagan said. ³When we treat students as individuals, we open the door to personal and academic success,² she said.
O¹Hagan referred to the fact that students look up to everyone surrounding them, including the security guards, secretaries and teachers in a school, for support and advice. Other speakers also commented on the fostering process apparent in Baldwin.
³I¹m sure you will give your hearts to the children of Baldwin and to helping them grow,² said Linda Kellner, Vice President of the Association of Baldwin Administrators and Assistant Principal of Baldwin High School. Kellner, a Baldwin High School graduate, was honored earlier in the year as the New York State Assistant Principal of the Year.
Britto and his colleagues made it clear that students aren¹t the only ones to experience a welcoming environment in Baldwin. At least one new teacher in particular, Jana Trezza, said she was mainly attracted to the district for this reason.
³I¹ve just heard it¹s an amazing district and that they offer - as they keep saying - an amazing support system,² Trezza said of what attracted her to the Baldwin district after having spent time at Valley Stream and another school.
³I¹m also looking forward to working with a mix of diverse students and getting involved with extracurricular activities,² said the future high school special education teacher. Her experience with coaching basketball is something she said she hopes to continue at Baldwin.
Audrey Tenehaus, who will also teach at the high school but English rather than special education, transferred to Baldwin from Oceanside High School.
³I heard it was a wonderful community,² she said.
Mary Fallica, President of the Baldwin Teachers Association, emphasized the vast network of teachers in which the new staffers will now be included. She cited them as part of the union, which includes 460 Baldwin teachers, which is part of the New York and nationwide teacher¹s unions.
³Hopefully you love kids,² she said. ³You¹re going to love the kids at Baldwin, and when you love the kids, you will love their parents, and their marching band,² Fallica said. Fallica went on to name other student and community activities in which students and teachers could both become involved.
Soon-to-be English teacher at BHS, Nia Thompson, found the orientation particularly helpful.
³I think this is nice,² said Thompson, who has prior experience teaching in Hempstead. ³You get a chance to meet everybody and know who is who. I love the department I¹m working with and I can¹t wait to start. I¹m just excited about being around the children.²
Bernadette Anoni, the President of the Baldwin Supervisors Association summed up the general feeling of comfort and support embodied in the orientation and at Baldwin.
³We are excited to have you as part of our family,² she said to the new staffers.
Anoni also gave the new staff a bit of advice for those times when one¹s job can get stressful. Anoni told them to just remind themselves: ³Teaching is the greatest profession there is.²
