Thirteen new faculty and staff members will bring a wide variety of personal and professional experiences to the halls and classrooms of the Menands Central Union Free School District for the 2024-25 school year.
Caterina Burns is joining the school for the 2024-25 school year as the fourth grade teacher, Marisa Cioffi is the new speech and language teacher and Erica Foley is a new special education teacher while Carly Galvin is the new occupational therapy assistant. Additionally, Pooja Gosai joins Menands as the new kindergarten teacher and Jill Hepp is taking on the physical therapist job, while Christina Osterhout joins Menands as the Pre-K teacher and Diane Solomon is the new certified Spanish language teacher.
Also, the district hired several new classroom aides. They are Rasha Hamad, Emily Link, Alexa Evans, Elizabeth Guynup and Sophia Rocco.
“We are excited to welcome a diverse group of new faculty and staff members who will undoubtedly add to the learning—and excitement for learning—in our school,” said Principal Kathleen Wylie.
Information about each of the new Menands teachers are as follows:
Caterina Burns is the new fourth grade teacher at Menands. She joins the district from the East Greenbush Central School District, where she worked as a long-term substitute teacher while studying for her master’s degree.
The College of St. Rose graduate is a self-proclaimed nerd who enjoys reading, traveling, and watching her students’ athletic events.
Caterina enjoys teaching and not only instructing her students, but educating herself through her fascination and excitement in the topics she teaches.
Marisa Cioffi has two years’ experience working as a speech-language pathologist for special education students in a preschool. A graduate of SUNY Cortland and The College of Saint Rose, Marisa lives by the mantra “You can do hard things.”
Marisa enjoys reading and running and shares that she was adopted from South Korea when she was seven months old.
Erica Foley is new to her role as special education teacher at Menands but has been part of the school’s family for the past three years. She will be teaching special education students in kindergarten through second grade this coming year; previously she has worked as an aide in a self-contained classroom and as a long-term substitute teacher. She is studying for her Master of Special Education degree at Russell Sage College.
When not working or studying, Erica enjoys painting and creating art.
Carly Galvin joins Menands from a non-profit school for children with special needs, where she worked for 13 years in a variety of positions that ranged from teaching assistant to lifeguard, behavior specialist assistant and certified occupational therapy assistant.
Carly is a graduate of Maria College and was married this summer. She enjoys outdoor activities, swimming, and spending time with her family and three cats—Lady Maple, Stanley, and Marty.
Pooja Gosai joins Menands from the Albany City School District where she ascended the education career ladder from teacher assistant to teacher and a mentor. A College of St.Rose graduate, Pooja believes “Teaching is not just my profession, it’s my passion.”
Outside of work, Pooja is an avid reader and enjoys spending time with her family and exploring new places.
Jill Hepp joins Menands with more than 25 years of experience as a pediatric physical therapist.
Jill relocated to the Albany area from Boston in 2003 to be closer to family. She and her husband have two children, ages 17 and 11. Jill dedicates much of her free time tp supporting her children in their athletic endeavors in soccer, golf, lacrosse, and baseball.
In addition to her family, Jill cares for two dogs and four cats, and she fosters kittens through the local rescue group Orange Street Cats.
Christina Osterhout joins Menands as the Pre-K teacher with 18 years of experience in early childhood education. The College of St. Rose graduate previously worked for the Albany City School District.
Christina said she loves “teaching Pre-K because I love to have fun while teaching. Children learn best at this age when they are having fun.”
A mother of three, Christina said she and her family enjoy camping, swimming, hiking, four-wheeling, snowmobiles, and campfires.
Diane Solomon is a certified Spanish language teacher. She joins Menands from the Averill Park Central School District. A graduate of Empire State University and the University at Albany, Diane said she enjoys “:everything about teaching Spanish.”
Diane said she has a goal for her students of learning “much more” than just how to speak and write Spanish, but to also be “open minded to learning new things.”
Diane is busy in her free time helping her “elder” mother and following her passion of gardening.