Five Hills Teachers Join New York State Master Teacher Program

The Half Hollow Hills Central School District is proud to announce that five of the district’s teachers are part of the statewide group of 228 educators joining the New York State Master Teacher Program this year.

The recipients of this honor include:

• Zoe Chiam, 5th grade teacher, Paumanok Elementary School
• Amanda Kavner, science teacher, Half Hollow Hills High School East
• KimMarie Lennon, 2nd grade teacher, Paumanok Elementary School
• Christopher Regini, science teacher, West Hollow Middle School
• Mitchel Troise, science teacher, Half Hollow Hills High School West

These 228 new Master Teachers join a vibrant network of over 1,200 outstanding public school teachers throughout the state who share a passion for their own STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning and for collaborating with colleagues to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders.

"I salute these brilliant and dedicated teachers who have made an incredible, lasting impact on New York's future leaders," Governor Cuomo said. "These 228 new members of the Master Teacher Program will join the ranks of the state's top educators, a group who strive every day to enrich and expand the horizons of countless students in every corner of the Empire State."

Throughout their four-year participation in the program, Master Teachers receive an annual stipend while engaging in peer mentoring and intensive content-oriented professional development opportunities throughout the academic year. Master Teachers also work closely with pre-service and early career teachers to foster a supportive environment for the next generation of STEM teachers, and participate in and lead several professional development sessions each year.

Zoe Chiam challenges her fifth graders to be creative in their problem solving, persevering through failures to find solutions. She facilitates the creation of student websites that serve as both digital portfolios of their progress and accomplishments, and as a platform for students to voice their questions and ideas with peers and the community.

Amanda Kavner spent years as a bench chemist before going back to school to become a high school biology and chemistry teacher. Her main interest is in using technology in the creation of authentic learning experiences for her students, and she is an international speaker and doctoral candidate focusing on using artificial intelligence to understand and predict learning outcomes.

KimMarie Lennon cultivates an environment of active participants in her second grade class, who are willing to take risks and work collaboratively. She bridges the gap between elementary and high school by working with classes from High School East on coding and economics projects.

Chris Regini incorporates physical computing, robotics, and 3D printing into his middle school science classes. He takes a learning-by-making approach that allows his students to creatively express their knowledge of content while establishing a digital portfolio. Regini carries out yearlong sustainability and alternative agriculture projects with his students using a Farmbot automated community garden and MarsFarm vertical hydroponic system.

Mitchel Troise is a Project Lead the Way certified teacher who teaches high school engineering classes and is the advisor for the district’s FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics teams. He lives by the motto of the character Shifu from the movie Kung Fu Panda, “If you only do what you can, you’ll never be more then you are now,” encouraging his students to step out of their comfort zones so that they can better themselves as learners and individuals.

“In Half Hollow Hills we work hard to equip our students with the STEM skills that will help them be leaders in the 21st century workforce, and that starts with having talented STEM teachers,” said Dr. Patrick Harrigan, superintendent of schools in Half Hollow Hills. “We are so excited to have five of our teachers be selected for the Master Teacher Program, representing our elementary, middle and high schools. We look forward to the many new ideas and programs they will bring back to share with our students and faculty.”

An education-oriented community with high academic expectations, the Half Hollow Hills Central School District is located in a residential area of 50,000 people in the central part of Long Island, approximately 40 miles from New York City. Providing for the education of almost 8,000 students, the school district has five elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. Half Hollow Hills High Schools are fully accredited by the New York State Department of Education. The district is committed to providing all students with opportunities to excel in academics, athletics and the arts.