Tarrytown Teachers Become STEM Ambassadors

Three Washington Irving Intermediate School STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) teachers took part in a year-long professional development program at Mercy University Center for STEM Education. Fourth grade teacher Michelle Devivo, Technology Teaching Assistant Jennifer Bonilla, and Teaching Assistant Allison Clauss were part of the latest Cohort of local educators looking to advance their classroom instruction.

Since 2019, the Mercy University Center for STEM Education has been offering K-8 educators professional development to assist them in integrating STEM education into their teaching. Referred to as the Westchester STEM Ambassadors (WSA) program, STEM Teacher Leaders from across seven districts; Ossining, White Plains, New Rochelle, Port Chester, Peekskill, Elmsford and Tarrytown, came together to gain knowledge about different forms of technology through in-person and virtual meetings.

“Those in the program need to complete 40 hours of training. We have robotic sessions with hands-on introductions that include drones, robots, engineering sets, to name a few. We show them different ways they can use them in a lesson and they have to think about how it applies to their particular classroom,” said Mary Ushay, the Assistant Director of the
Center for STEM Education at Mercy University.

The professional development program began in September and concluded in March with a symposium that allowed the teachers to showcase how they have incorporated what they learned into their own lessons.

“The Mercy STEM program is an invaluable initiative for teachers within the local school districts. Providing hands-on learning opportunities and access to new technology not only enriches the teachers' own knowledge but also directly benefits our students,” said Ms. Devivo. “The collaborative nature of this program extends beyond our district, fostering partnerships among educators to share resources, expertise, and innovative teaching practices.”

The program was overseen by Co-Directors of the Mercy Center for STEM Education, Dr. Meghan Marrero and Dr. Amanda Gunning, who are both graduate professors of Science Education at Mercy University, and specialists in STEM Education. Instructors who specialize in STEM also assisted the cohort in their professional learning.

“The Mercy Stem Ambassador Program not only showed me how to incorporate STEM into the classroom but also how to embrace the process and show students that with a little patience and a little debugging the results can be extraordinary,” said Ms. Bonilla. “I enjoyed learning about other teaching styles and also learning about how technology continues to grow. After each class I felt more confident in my place in STEM and how I can bring this back to the students.”

The WI educators were part of Cohort 3, adding to the growing list of Tarrytown teachers who have taken advantage of the unique educational experience. During the 2022-23 academic year Michelle Dexter from Morse and Angela Esposito from John Paulding completed the program. Meghan Hak from Washington Irving, Rabecca Roffi from John Paulding, and Kerrie Sansky from Morse completed the program during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Once they finished the program these STEM Ambassadors made it a priority to share what they have learned with their fellow staff members during faculty meetings. This has allowed classrooms throughout the district to benefit from the methods taught and proves that when combined with effective teaching practices STEM can positively impact the learning environment.
“We hope that the teachers that have gone through the program will encourage their fellow educators. That the momentum will build because the more teachers you have in one school the more they can share,” said Ms. Ushay. “They can partner with another classroom and create lessons that benefit everyone.”

Through the Smart Start grant from the New York State Department of Education, teachers were provided an $800 allowance for technology and STEM-related work within their classrooms enabling them to implement innovative teaching methods and resources. They also received a $2,000 stipend for the time and effort they put into the program.

“I really enjoyed being able to work with other teachers from various school districts. We were able to share our daily duties but also engage in this really fun and hands-on experience,” said Ms. Clauss. “We were learning something new, just like our students do, which was really eye opening. I learned I can reach various students at different learning levels all based on engineering and robotics which I've taken into the classroom.”

Mercy University is currently accepting applications for the next Cohort. The cutoff date to apply is May 13, 2024. Learn more about Mercy University’s STEM Professional Development.