I am excited to release the final staffing plan for next year.
| Pre-K | Kdg | 1st grade | 2nd grade | 3rd grade | 4th grade | 5th grade |
| Garfinkel | R. Chalfant | Bergin | #Hsu | Brady | Grindrod | Levy |
| Hines | #Cresswell | **Kopsidas | Schafer | #Colman | Heist | McCoy |
| **Silver | Schwadron | #Fitzpatrick | #Travitz | Davis | Mathur | Otten |
| Seltzer | Pinks | Walton | **Thompson | #Reed | #Snyder |
| Pre-K Resource | Art | Music | PE | Language |
| Lyon | David | **Branch | Johnson | Casten |
**New to Murch
#Current Murch teacher in a new position
Pre-Kindergarten
Ms. Daniela Silver has been hired to join Ms. Alicia Garfinkel and Ms. Jackie Hines to round out our Pre-K teaching team.
Ms. Silver comes to us from American University where she is completing her Master of Arts in Teaching (Early Childhood Education). Most recently, Ms. Silver worked as a student teacher at Bethesda Elementary School.
Ms. Silver fills the position held by Ms. Ariel Landsman who will be moving to Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Landsman’s husband Marc matched into a gastroenterology fellowship with Case Western MetroHealth Hospital. They hope to return to the DC area when his fellowship is complete!
Kindergarten
Ms. Rachel Chalfant, Ms. Sophie Schwadron and Ms. Sarah Seltzer (current K teachers at Murch) will be joined by Ms. Wendy Cresswell, who will move from 1st grade to kindergarten. Mr. Charles Chalfant will become the instructional technology coach, supporting the use of technology in instruction and curriculum development at Murch.
1st Grade
Ms. Kathleen Bergin and Ms. Alyssa Pinks (current 1st grade teachers at Murch) will be joined by Ms. Katelyn Fitzpatrick, who will move from kindergarten to 1st grade, and Ms. Athena Kopsidas.
Ms. Kopsidas joins us from her most recent experience as a first grade teacher at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School.
Ms. Kopsidas has a Master’s degree from George Mason University in Teaching with an emphasis in arts integration and urban education along with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in Early Childhood Education.
Ms. Bergin and Ms. Pinks’ classrooms will be self-contained. Ms. Fitzpatrick and Ms. Kopsidas’ classrooms will be departmentalized. Students in those classrooms will spend half the day with Ms. Fitzpatrick for ELA and half the day with Ms. Kopsidas for math & science.
2nd Grade
Ms. Elizabeth Schafer and Ms. De’Anna Walton (current 2nd grade teachers at Murch) will be joined by Mr. Allen Travitz and Ms. Heather Hsu, both of whom currently teach 1st grade at Murch.
Ms. Schafer and Ms. Walton’s classrooms will be self-contained. Mr. Travitz and Ms. Hsu’s classrooms will be departmentalized. Students in those classrooms will spend half the day with Mr. Travitz for ELA and half the day with Ms. Hsu for math & science.
Departing 2nd grade teachers include Ms. Laura Dorn, Ms. Meribeth Heitbrink, and Ms. Sally George. Ms. Dorn will be attending graduate school at the University of Georgia next year. She will miss Murch and hopes to return to work in D.C. the following year. Ms. Heitbrink will be moving back to Chicago to be closer to family and friends and will continue to pursue her career in teaching.
3rd Grade
Mr. Tim Brady and Ms. Monica Davis (current 3rd grade teachers at Murch) will be joined by Mr. Scott Colman and Ms. Elizabeth Thompson.
Mr. Colman currently serves as the science coordinator at Murch, and Ms. Thompson comes to us from H.D. Cooke Elementary School in D.C., where she teaches 3rd grade ELA. Ms. Thompson has an English Literature degree from Trinity University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from American University. She has a passion for teaching literacy and loves to learn new ways to make content exciting.
The 3rd grade team will be departmentalized. Mr. Brady will teach math, Mr. Colman will teach science and Ms. Davis and Ms. Thompson will teach English language arts.
Departing 3rd grade teachers include Ms. Samantha Chung, Ms. Vanessa Robin and Ms. Maria Samenga.
Ms. Chung’s husband is starting a new position within his company and relocating them back to New Jersey. Ms. Chung plans on continuing her teaching career, but will forever hold fond memories of Murch close to her heart.
Next year, Ms. Robin will be a full-time student, pursuing her MSW through Columbia University. Outside of her graduate studies, Ms. Robin will be tutoring kids in the DC area (including some Murch students!), which will allow her to keep in touch with the community and remain in the field of education. She will always cherish the time she spent at Murch and the relationships she’s built with students and their families.
Ms. Samenga just bought a house out in La Plata, Maryland. While she is sad to leave DCPS, she is very excited about this new adventure with her family.
4th Grade
Ms. Meredith Grindrod, Ms. Sarah Heist and Ms. Asha Mathur (current 4th grade teachers at Murch) will be joined by Ms. Lauren Reed. Ms. Reed currently serves as the Murch geography teacher.
The 4th grade team will be departmentalized. Ms. Heist will teach math, Ms. Mathur will teach science and Ms. Grindrod and Ms. Reed will teach English language arts.
5th Grade
Ms. Karen Levy, Ms. Avis McCoy and Ms. Vicki Otten (current 5th grade teachers at Murch) will be joined by Mr. Peter Snyder. Mr. Snyder currently teaches 4th grade ELA.
The 5th grade team will be departmentalized. Ms. McCoy will teach math, Ms. Levy will teach science and Ms. Otten and Mr. Snyder will teach English language arts.
Departing 5th grade teachers include Ms. Sabrina Sanford. Ms. Sanford and her husband will relocate to Charlotte, NC early this summer. Ms. Sanford will miss Murch, its staff and community, and living in the DC area, but she is excited for the new adventure that waits down in North Carolina.
Enrichment (Schoolwide Enrichment Model)
We are excited to welcome Ms. Roxanne Bentley as our enrichment coordinator. Ms. Bentley is a SEM specialist who became acquainted with the SEM model during her Master’s degree work in Gifted and Talented Education. She has since utilized the SEM model as a gifted and talented classroom teacher, has facilitated enrichment professional development, and was one of two pilot teachers who introduced the SEM model to DCPS Middle Schools in 2012. She looks forward to transitioning back to elementary, her first love, and is excited to become part of the Murch community.
Resource Teachers
Ms. Nichole David (art), Mr. Timothy Johnson (physical education), and Joseph Casten (Spanish) will be joined by Mr. Eugene Branch (music) to complete our resource team. Mr. Branch comes to us from H.D. Cooke Elementary School in D.C., where he teaches music.
Eugene “Gene” Branch, Jr. will join Murch Elementary School as the new music teacher for SY 2016-2017. He comes to Murch with 24 years of teaching music at the elementary and middle school levels. Gene plays and teaches piano, saxophone, flute, drums and clarinet. He enjoys singing and performing, building and painting his own sets and designing costumes for shows in collaboration with parent volunteers.
Gene has a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance, along with two master degrees in Curriculum and Instruction and Education Administration. He is currently attending Northcentral University, working towards a doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Gene’s goal is to bring music, singing, and performing and music direction to its highest level at Murch as well as to make every performance memorable for the entire school community.
Dr. Christopher Lyon will continue his cross-disciplinary work with pre-k students as well as working with both Pre-k and Kdg. teachers in developing their understanding of Reggio Emilia which will be fully implemented in Pre-K and Kdg. starting with the 2018-2019 school year.
Departing resource teachers include Ms. Catherine Pruett (music), who is looking for new adventures in other places and Ms. Lauren Reed will be joining the fourth grade team!
Support Teams
We have added a Special Education Inclusion teacher to our staff. Ms. Katie Fischer comes to us from Truesdell Education Campus in D.C., where she serves as a special education inclusion teacher. She holds a Master of Science degree in teaching from Fordham University.
We also welcome Ms. Alison Williams as an additional instructional coach (joining Ms. Tashima Hawkins in the coaching office). Ms. Williams is a Washington, D.C. native who attended James F. Oyster Bilingual Elementary School and Hardy Middle School. She holds her BS from Hampton University and Master’s from University of Maryland, College Park and is beginning her 21st year as an educator—12 years as a classroom teacher, 4 as a Reading Specialist and the last 5 as an Instructional Coach.
Our ELL (English Language Learners) team will remain the same, but we will add one ELL aide. This decision has yet to be made.
We look forward to welcoming these new team members to Murch for the 2016-17 school year!
Have a great weekend.