Annika Khurana, Executive Editor
@akhuranacourant
With the start of the 2022-23 school year, nine staff members have been welcomed to the high school. From school counselors, to math teachers, to band directors, these new faces have quickly become integrated into the school community and provided with the opportunity to make an impact on the students they work with.
Andrea Staak: Life Sciences Laboratory Aide
Andrea Staak spent many years in laboratory work and teaching biology labs in college before coming to the high school as a Life Sciences Laboratory Aide. “I don’t teach any classes but I assist about eight or nine teachers with set ups for laboratories and anything else they may need in terms of scientific instruments or supplies,” she said.
When the position became available, Ms. Staak was excited to try something new while continuing her work in biology and involving her experience in laboratory work. “It’s a great way to apply my skills in a different way and help in education,” she said. “It’s also nice to see what kids are up to now in high school, it’s been a few years since I was in one.”
Angela Wilson: Library Administrative Assistant
During the pandemic, Angela Wilson started freelancing following a career in graphic design so she could spend more time with her kids. “For 15 years I worked with non-profits and I specialized in marketing, public relations, and graphic design,” Ms. Wilson said. “I was able to work with the community on many special events and fundraisers.”
This past year, however, Ms. Wilson began to miss working with people, which led her to apply for the position of a library administrative assistant at the high school, where she is stationed at the circulation desk and interacts with students and staff on a daily basis. “I wanted to get back into working in an environment where I felt like I could give back and connect,” she said. “I love reading and when this position became available, it seemed like a really good fit, so I kind of went in a new direction.”
Barry Zhou: Band Director
After working with students in Norwalk, New Milford, and East Elementary and Saxe Middle School in New Canaan, Barry Zhou joined the high school as a band director. “Sometimes the right job finds you,” Mr. Zhou said. “I had a long-term position at Saxe and then a position opened up at East Elementary. I really enjoyed my time there and then the same thing happened at the high school, a position opened up, I applied, and I was fortunate enough to be chosen.”
When directing a band program, an experience is created that will be passed down from year to year as the upperclassmen interact with the underclassmen. “Anything you work on, create, and set in stone gets passed down for a long time,” Mr. Zhou said. “There is a lot of joy in handling something like that.”
James Chesbro: English Teacher
James Chesbro taught at Fairfield Prep for 22 years as well as Fairfield University before coming to the high school as an English teacher. “It’s a great collegial environment and the teachers here are very inspired,” Mr. Chesbro said. “It’s nice to work in that type of atmosphere.”
Mr. Chesbro’s students may not be aware that he is also an author, having published a book titled “A Lion in the Snow: Essays on a Father’s Journey Home”. “I teach grade level juniors and sophomores and sophomore honors [classes]as well,” he said. His work has appeared in various newspapers and journals, such as The Washington Post and The Writer’s Chronicle.
Jamie Courbron: Math Teacher
Jamie Courbron joined the high school after teaching math at Foran High School in Milford for seven years. “I taught Geometry, Algebra 2, Calculus, and Statistics,” Ms. Courbron said. This year, she is teaching M3 Precalculus and M2 Algebra 2.
In terms of precalculus, Ms. Courbron hopes to become familiar with the material as it is her first year teaching the course. “My goal is to make sure that my students know how to problem-solve and don’t just try to memorize math facts, but instead are able to apply them as critical thinkers,” she said.
Jay DeVito: Building Substitute
Jay DeVito has entered his first teaching assignment at the high school as a Building Substitute while he gets his master’s degree in physical education and sports pedagogy at Manhattanville College. “I chose New Canaan because of the great people in the building, everyone has been so welcoming and it has helped me become comfortable very quickly,” he said.
Mr. DeVito was named Male Athlete of the Year at Central Connecticut State University as a baseball player and plans on becoming involved with school sports. “I’m going to be coaching basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring,” he said. “I hope to provide knowledge and improve both teams as much as possible.”
Karen Galeas: Spanish Teacher
Karen Galeas previously taught Spanish in Westport and Danbury, but ultimately decided to come to the high school because of its proximity to her residence and its close-knit world language team. “Every time I’ve worked in a new district, I met new colleagues and people who have taught me many things,” Ms. Galeas said. “The staff here is pretty amazing, everybody has been helping me as much as they can.
Ms. Galeas is originally from El Salvador and enjoys traveling. “One of my goals is to visit all Spanish speaking countries, there are 21 that officially speak Spanish,” she said. “So far I have visited about seven.”
Dr. Kemen Holley: K-12 Director of World Languages and English Language Learners
Before joining the district as a K-12 Director of World Languages and English Language Learners, Dr. Kemen Holley worked in Milford, Westport, and Brookfield school districts. “I became an educator because I consider myself as going to school and not going to work because I am learning something new every day,” she said.
Dr. Holley describes her first weeks in the district as transformative due to her burgeoning relationships with students, families, and staff. “What intrigued me about NCPS is the district’s commitment to optimizing each student’s social, emotional, and academic development in preparation for active participation in a dynamic and complex global society,” she said.
Sara Drexel: School Counselor
Before coming to the high school, Sara Drexel worked as a school counselor in the Fairfield area for over ten years. “What presented itself as an opportunity coming to New Canaan is the robust school counseling curriculum,” she said. “I love counseling students with different career interests and learning style inventories and there are opportunities to do that here, which is somewhat unique.”
School counselors came into the building a week before teachers and students, which provided time for Ms. Drexel to get to know her colleagues as well as the counseling curriculum. “When teachers and students came in, what stood out to me was how happy people seemed to be, you can just feel it walking down the halls,” she said. “People are smiling and engaged, so I felt very welcomed.”
