Welcome New Hires!

Brewster’s newest teachers gathered this week to kick off orientation—ready to trade summer vacation for ice breakers, tech training, and a crash course in becoming part of the school community.

Twenty-five teachers, both those who are fresh out of school and those with many years of experience, met in the ILC at Brewster High School on Monday and Tuesday for a host of sessions, including a welcome and introduction from Superintendent Dr. Michelle Gosh, members of the Board of Education and administrators from across the district, a getting-to-know-you activity led by BHS teachers Laura Preiser and Jessica Zhinin, and a Brewster scavenger hunt and bus tour with Artie Campbell and Deborah Oswald, Director of Education and Programming at Southeast Museum.

“New staff explored key landmarks across town using custom info cards hidden at four iconic locations. Each stop revealed a piece of Brewster’s rich history and plenty of photo ops. Supplied with clues, school spirit, and team selfies, our newest teachers got a fun, firsthand look at Brewster" said Preiser.

Some of the new teachers are BCSD grads–coming home, in a sense.

Ally Tschinkel, a seventh-grade ESL teacher, graduated from Brewster in 2011, will be co-teaching with three teachers she had when she attended BCSD.

“It’s a full circle moment for me,” said Ally, “I am so excited!”

Will Ford, who graduated in 2018, is going to be teaching carpentry at BHS. He was seated next to James Hartigan, a new music teacher at H.H. Wells. During COVID, Will helped coach the BHS track team, of which James was a member.

Regardless of their path to BCSD, the attendees received the same message from Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dr. Stephen Hancock:

“For some of you, welcome home. For the rest of you, welcome–it’s going to be a great experience. Brewster is a family. It’s a great place to work. You are here because we are looking for the best teachers. Congratulations! Welcome to the Brewster family.”