Tarrytown Schools Grant Tenure, Honor Retirees

SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y. – Superintendent Howard Smith said it was a bittersweet moment for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns as the Board of Education honored its retiring staff in a recent ceremony.

“There's no way we can do it justice,” he said.

A group of 23 teachers and staff members will retire from the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns this year. School board members thanked each retiring staff member with a certificate of appreciation during Thursday's Board of Education meeting. The Teachers' Association handed each retiring member a rose to mark the occasion as well. The ceremony was filled with laughs, hugs and fond memories.

 Many of the retiring teachers have served more than 30 years in the district and three have served more than 40 years in the district, including ESL teacher Katharine St. Vincent with 41 years, elementary teacher MaryLynn Pearlman with 42 years and science teacher David Benedict with 50 years.

Smith said this year's retirees all had a common characteristic: they were each able to make lasting connections with fellow colleagues and students.

“They invest everything they've got, and it shows,” he said.

School Board President B. Joseph Lillis calculated the group had a combined 522 years of service in the district.

“The community thanks you from the bottom of our hearts,” he said.

The Board of Education also granted tenure to three teachers in a special ceremony: Thomas Rogers, David Erenberg and Anne Randazzo. Randazzo is a teaching assistant in the art department. Rogers is an English teacher. Erenberg is a science teacher.

School board members thanked the trio for their dedication before voting to approve each motion for tenure. Erenberg thanked his students in a brief speech after being officially granted tenure.

“They're the reason I love teaching,” he said.

Rogers said he appreciated the opportunity to continue teaching in the district and earned a few laughs from the crowd when he forgot and then apologetically thanked his “beautiful and supportive fiancée” during his speech.

Ellen Kaplan, president of the Teachers' Association, thanked the Board of Education for supporting teachers in the district.

Retiring faculty and staff in the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns:

• Rebecca Almogabar, elementary ESL teacher at John Paulding School, after 25 years of service.
• Emily Clary, social worker at John Paulding School, after 15 years of service.
• Karen Garibaldi, elementary teacher at John Paulding School, after 28 years of service.
• MaryLynn Pearlman, elementary teacher at John Paulding School, after 42 years of service.
• Lyn Dalton, teaching assistant at Washington Irving Intermediate School, after 13 years of service.
• David Benedict Sr., science teacher at Sleepy Hollow Middle School, after 50 years of service.
• Andrea Osnow, English teacher at Sleepy Hollow Middle School, after 31 years and 7 months of service.
• Suzanne Davis, social studies teacher at Sleepy Hollow High School, after 25 years of service.
• Diane Irmler, math teacher at Sleepy Hollow High School, after 28 years of service.
• Patricia Maceyak, special education teacher at Sleepy Hollow High School, after 28 years of service.
• Thomas Mormile, health and multimedia teacher at Sleepy Hollow High School, after 34 years of service.
• Olivia Wiener, social studies teacher at Sleepy Hollow High School, after 19 years of service.
• Katharine St. Vincent, ESL teacher and department chair at Sleepy Hollow High School, after 41 years of service.
• Michele Milliam, principal at John Paulding School, after 39 years of service.
• Rosemary Prati, principal at Winfield L. Morse Elementary School, after two years of service.
• Joanna Adams, bus driver, after 22 years of service.
• Guilherme Almeida, custodian at Sleepy Hollow High School, after eight years of service.
• Flor Borrell, bus attendant and school monitor, after 12 and a half years of service.
• Beverly Grasso, guidance department secretary, after 21 years of service.
• Marguerite Longinetti, office assistant at Sleepy Hollow High School, after 12 years of service.
• Denise Martin-Newton, Sleepy Hollow High School registrar, after 24 years of service.
• William Wilson, grounds crew foreman, after 30 years of service.
• Ronald Malta, bus driver, after six years of service.

 

 

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