In just a few short weeks we will be welcoming our PreK 3 and PreK 4 students back to the Wayland Cohocton PreK School! I’m just as excited to join the Wayland-Cohocton CSD community as the new early childhood coordinator at the Wayland-Cohocton PreK School.
I began my teaching career working at Erie 2 BOCES located in Fredonia, NY. It was during this time that I spent three consecutive summers working as a one-on-one aide for a little boy in our preschool program. This time spent in our special education preschool classroom ignited my passion for working with our youngest and most inquisitive students, preschoolers. Shortly after leaving BOCES I transitioned to multiple positions across Western, NY focused on early childhood education. I was a center director of an integrated preschool program in Chautauqua county in which our program shared space with multiple preschool and kindergarten classrooms across many school districts in the area.
My wife and I then moved back to Rochester in 2010, where I have continued to focus my teaching energies in early childhood education programs. I’ve been fortunate work with Head Start in two distinct positions, one as a center director of a migrant seasonal program in Williamson and the other as the education and disabilities specialist for Head Start at the Volunteers of America Children’s Center in Rochester.
Most recently I was a research associate at Children’s Institute. Our affiliation with the
University of Rochester allowed me to spend over five years working alongside partners
from the Rochester City School District’s early childhood education program specializing
in full day PreK 4 and later PreK 3 programming. I was responsible for data analysis
work with UPK student cognitive and social emotional development, conducting
research focused on UPK students and teachers, and providing professional
development opportunities for PreK 3 and PreK 4 teachers across the Rochester City
School District and Head Start.
I’m really excited to begin working with our dedicated and enthusiastic teachers and
staff at Wayland-Cohocton PreK School! I look forward to meeting our families and
children as we begin our early childhood educational journey’s together as PreK 3 and
PreK 4 students as the graduating class of 2036 and 2037.