WFSD Appoints Director Of Elementary Curriculum And Assessment

Press release from The William Floyd School District:

Aug. 18, 2022

The William Floyd School District recently appointed Mary Siano to the position of Director of Elementary Curriculum and Assessment, a role that includes the oversight of all elementary curriculum, supporting the roll-out of the newest district mathematics and ELA programs, instructional technology and the development of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) initiatives in grades K-5. This is a new and expanded position, which will assume many of the roles and duties of the former Director of Grants, Elementary Education & ENL Supervisor, Mary Koehler, who retired at the end of this past school year. Ms. Siano has served the William Floyd School District for the past 29 years in various roles, such as a special education teacher, elementary staff developer and Teacher Center Director.

“Ms. Siano has been an invaluable asset to the William Floyd School District in every role that she has served,” said Dr. Stacey Scalise, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education, William Floyd School District. “She is an intelligent, dynamic and trusted leader who goes above and beyond in all that she does. I am excited to work with her in this new capacity.”

Ms. Siano began her career as a special education teacher 32 years ago at the Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI), where she created preschool lessons, made monthly home visits to support student growth and parental needs, created individualized education plans (IEPs) for students and prepared/presented information to students’ home districts for Committee on Special Education and Preschool Committee on Special Education meetings. She then brought her talents to the William Floyd School District and served as a special education teacher for 28 years, in which she performed many of the same roles at DDI and more including developing and implementing daily lessons for students placed in third-, fourth- and fifth-grade 8:1:1 life skills classes. She also conducted group and individualized activities in all content areas and created classroom environments that enabled students to achieve rigorous academic and social goals.

Additionally, Ms. Siano served as an elementary staff developer for the district over the course of the past school year, developing and implementing professional learning experiences for elementary educators, acting as a liaison between BOCES consultants and the district, and working with teacher-leaders piloting curricula in ELA, social studies and technology. She was also instrumental in helping the district quickly pivot to remote instruction during the pandemic shutdown of spring 2020, working with her colleagues to develop elementary instructional websites.

In 2014, Ms. Siano completed the requirements to become a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), the most respected, rigorous professional certification available for teachers, which provides numerous benefits to teachers, students and their schools. Completion of the NBCT signifies that teachers have voluntarily gone above and beyond in their careers, as well as having developed and demonstrated the advanced knowledge, skills and practices required of an outstanding education.

Ms. Siano also served as the William Floyd Teacher Center Director for the past 11 years, collaborating with district administrators to plan for professional development opportunities for teachers, teaching assistants and administrators, among a host of other responsibilities. She was also the Long Island representative on the New York Teacher Center Statewide Steering Committee and the regional co-chair of the Long Island Network of Teacher Centers.

Ms. Siano earned her BA at Stony Brook University in Social and Interdisciplinary Sciences with a minor in Child Care and Family Studies. She received her MS in Education from Dowling College and attained an advanced graduate certificate in the Educational Leadership Program at Stony Brook University. In addition to her NBCT Teacher Certification, she also holds permanent certifications in special education, and in nursery, kindergarten and grades 1-6. She attained her NYS School Building Leader and School District leader certifications from Stony Brook University.

This press release was produced by The William Floyd School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.