There will be a new second-grade teacher at Hillside Grade School when the year begins on Sept. 5.
The New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Board of Education unanimously approved the appointment of Shannon Gnatowski during Monday’s meeting.
Gnatowski, a Merrick resident, was previously a third-grade teacher at Franklin Square Elementary.
The board also approved six new substitute teachers to begin in the fall. Four of the approved substitutes are certified, and the other two have pending certifications.
A certification is not required to substitute teach under New York state law.
Jeanine Napoli, a Lynbrook resident who was present at the meeting, was one of the six appointed. She will be teaching a third-grade class at the New Hyde Park Road School while a teacher is on maternity leave.
The board also reappointed 33 substitute teachers for the coming school year; twelve of them are noncertified teachers.
During the meeting Morrison also announced that the afterschool YMCA program is now licensed for all four New Hyde Park-Garden City Park schools.
The program is new to the Manor Oaks School and Garden City Park School, Morrison said.
The YMCA program will use the cafeterias at Manor Oaks and Garden City Park for physical activity to not disrupt afterschool sports that use the gyms, Morrison said.
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other afterschool programs that traditionally used the cafeterias will use classrooms in the buildings, she said.
Morrison also said that during the board’s July 5 retreat, the board set the district goals for the 2018-19 school year.
“[They] may look familiar because they are a continuation of their goals from last year,” Morrison said.
The district’s goals are to continue improving communication between the district and the community by building a sense of transparency related to programs, policies and finances, and to increase collaboration between teachers and consistency of education programs across grade levels.
Reach reporter Rebecca Klar by email at rklar@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 204, or follow her on Twitter @rebeccaklar_
