Sep. 3, 2014: The Bronxville School welcomes ten new full-time teachers to the faculty for the 2014-2015 school year. According to Superintendent Dr. David Quattrone, all the teachers come to Bronxville with a master's degree or about to complete graduate studies and with up to ten years of teaching experience.

Among the teachers new to the elementary school this year is Veronica Fiore, teaching third grade, and Lauren Carfora, teaching fourth grade.

A Quinnipiac University graduate, Fiore credits her mother, also a teacher, with encouraging her enthusiasm for teaching. "She was a wonderful model because of her energy and excitement," Fiore said. Third grade is a special time, Fiore said, because the students are learning how to become more independent. They're reading to learn rather than learning to read, and she looks forward to helping them build comprehension.

Carfora comes to Bronxville from Pelham, where she also taught fourth grade. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at Boston College. Like Fiore, Carfora credits her mother with drawing her into teaching. "She has always been my ultimate inspiration," Carfora said. "She's one of those teachers who does more than just teach her students academically." Carfora enjoys the relationships that daily interactions help her build with her students and loves seeing them change and develop over the course of the school year. "I love reading with them and getting them to love reading more," she said.

Two new middle school mathematics teachers will join the faculty for 2014-2015, both from teaching positions in Dutchess County. Jennifer Oliveri comes to Bronxville from Pawling Middle School and Connor Mitchell from Beacon High School.

Oliveri earned her bachelor's degree at University of Delaware, where she studied elementary education and middle school mathematics. She did her graduate work in school counseling at Manhattan College. Oliveri knows she faces a challenge ahead with the Common Core curriculum. "It's exciting," she said. "It's a good challenge and a chance to up the rigor and get the students excited about math."

Mitchell is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz, where he is currently finishing his master's degree. He looks forward to exciting his students about doing math. "There always seems to be so much hesitance toward math," he said. "It's my job to break down those walls and get the students to have fun doing math." Mitchell's favorite aspect of math is problem solving, figuring out the steps to take and supporting the process. He plans to show students how the mathematical process translates to the real world and how to apply the principles to life outside school.

Also coming to the middle school this year is Kaitlyn Fay, middle school chorus director. Last year she served as a part-time chorus teacher at Pleasantville Middle School. A jazz singer, Fay also plays the saxophone and flute classically. She studied music education at Elon University and did her graduate work at William Paterson University. "My vision for any music program is fun, focus, and musical independence," Fay said. "I really believe the point of education should be to make the teacher obsolete." She hopes her students will take their musical independence beyond the classroom ensemble-director dynamic to activities and performances outside the classroom. "Students should be musical outside the classroom," she said. "That’s my goal."

Genevieve Jaffe, a former journalist and a Dartmouth College graduate, will join the high school English department. After working as an editor at such magazines as Washingtonian, Us Monthly, and George, she became interested in teaching from a roommate who related stories about her students. Jaffe "fell in love with being in the classroom" when she received a grant to teach historical fiction at her roommate's school. She returned to school and earned her teaching degree at Teachers College, Columbia University. "Seeing the students get it, seeing the 'light' go on, and seeing students enjoy the subject matter are what I enjoy most about teaching," Jaffe said. She looks forward to helping her ninth grade English students on their journey into high school and seeing them grow. "They grow up the most in ninth grade," she said.

To a person, the teachers joining the faculty of The Bronxville School look forward to establishing strong relationships with their fellow teachers and professionals on the school staff and getting to know the community.

Editor's note:  The new teachers not covered in this week's article will be covered in next week's issue.

Pictured here:  New teachers and staff at The Bronxville School.

Photo courtesy Dr. David Quattrone, Superintendent, Bronxville Schools