Schools
New Albany Teachers Get Big Welcome, Checks and Goodie Bags
The Albany Education Foundation welcomed the district's new teachers on Tuesday with checks, school-supply goodie bags, brownies and the opportunity to introduce themselves. The reception was held at the Albany Public Library.
Published Sept. 11, 2013, 12:15 a.m., updated 11:07 a.m.
New teachers in Albany were treated today, Tuesday, to brownies, checks, goodie bags of school supplies and a warm welcome at the annual new-teacher reception by the Albany Education Foundation.
The volunteer-run foundation, which raises funds for the schools, handed out checks for $200 to full-time teachers and $100 to part-time teachers to help them equip their classrooms.
They also received bright yellow Albany Public Library tote bags containing pencils, markers, erasers, tissues, stickies, glue sticks and energy bars. The event was held at the library.
Nineteen of the 30 new teachers in the district attended the reception and were asked, each in turn, to introduce themselves. Some were veterans of many years teaching, and some carried freshly minted certificates.
"I'm just super happy to be here," said Cara Goldstein, newly installed at Albany Middle School. Her previous teaching jobs included Pacifica and Pleasant Hill, she said.
Meaghann Curry, who taught in Kansas, and came to this area to work on a masters at UC Berkeley, said she was a student teacher in Albany last year and was delighted to be a regular teacher this year.
If there had been an award for biggest coincidence, it might have gone to new Albany High teacher Melinda Martinez, a 15-year veteran teacher, who recently moved to Albany and now has a son at Marin Elementary. "I have my son's teacher's daughter in one of my English classes," she said.
Also in attendance were several Albany Unified School District administrators, including Superintendent Marla Stephenson, and members of the Albany Education Foundation board. Also introduced at the event, in addition to new teachers, was new Albany High Vice Principal Kevin Goines.
It was the 14th annual new-teacher welcome held by Albany Education Foundation since it began the event in 2000.
Stephenson said the district hires about 30 teachers each year, mostly on temporary contracts to fill in for those on leave.
The following list of those hired this year was provided by the Albany Education Foundation:
Albany High
- Manuel Acosta
- Meghann Curry
- Melinda Martinez
- Katherine Tobes
- Leena Bakshi
- MaryJo Bradley
- Anna Collins
- Elizabeth Buchanan
- Cara Goldstein
- Marta Covarrubias
- Corinne Jong
- Jennifer Morris
- Daniel Huynh
- Melissa Bailey
- Sara Haller
- Adele King
- Samuel Prowell
- Chrsti Roscigno
- Cynthia Slater-Hatem
- Julie Borushok
- Rochelle Oliviera
- Chloe Mack
- Amy Penney (Albany High and Albany Middle)
- Thomas Luneburg (MacGregor High)
- Jeffrey Luna-Sparks (Elementary music teacher)
- Dale Boland (Elementary music teacher)
- Kristina Finnegan (Cornell science teacher)
- Tomas Gold (Transitional kindergarten)
- Danielle Loya (Transitional kindergarten)
- Sara Dieli (Multiple sites)
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