Board approves personnel moves

CLINTON TOWNSHIP - On Monday, the Clintondale Board of Education accepted the recommendation of district administration to make several key internal personnel moves.

At its general meeting, the board voted unanimously to make four moves, which are all effective immediately.

The most noteworthy move involves leadership at Clintondale High School as Dr. Shauna Hemler (photo above) goes from assistant principal to instructional coach for Grades 3-6 in four different buildings: the middle school and all three elementary schools.

“Dr. Hemler is an awesome administrator,” Superintendent Rodriguez Broadnax said. “She works very hard every single day. She went from the middle school to the high school where she has really been an asset at Clintondale High School. Now she wants to do something a little bit more along the instructional lines with an instructional lens. I’m sure she’s work at as many schools in the district, so I think she will be a huge asset at the elementary level.”

Director of Curriculum Rachel Kowalski added: “We are so blessed to have Dr. Hemler join us on the teaching and learning team. She has a very student-centered way at looking at her work, and I truly and greatly appreciate her efforts as an administrator, but really can’t wait to work with her.”

Prior to taking the assistant principal position at the high school last August, Hemler, who has been in the district since 2004, was assistant principal at the middle school for several years.

“Thank you for this opportunity,” she said. “I’m excited to work directly with teachers and work on all of our instructional practices here at Clintondale.”

Maria Romain is the high school’s new assistant principal. She was hired last August as a secondary instructional coach working closely with Kowalski and the district’s curriculum team.

“She has done a great job as an instructional coach,” Broadnax said. “She works with the secondary teachers already, middle and high school. She does have her (administrator’s) license, and Mrs. (Meloney) Cargill has spoken with her and she is ready to assume this role. She will do a wonderful job as a high school assistant principal.”

Romain added: “Thank you so much for this appointment. I am looking forward to working in this capacity. I’m excited to get back into administration, as I have past experience as an administrator. I’m looking forward to working alongside Mrs. Cargill and I’m just hoping we can make this transition as smoothly as possible for the remainder of the school year.”

Romain’s former secondary instructional coach role will be filled by Bernadette Penick, who has worked in the district since 2001. Her last assignment was as a middle school math teacher.

“Ms. Penick is one of the best teachers in this district,” Broadnax said. “So this position is well deserved for Ms. Penick. Now, I know that two ways because I was in her class this morning, but my son also has Ms. Penick. My baby boy loves her, and anybody that my baby loves is a very good teacher. So, Ms. Penick is a wonderful, wonderful teacher. I look forward to her moving into this position.”

Kowalski echoed the praise for Penick.

“She’s always willing to go the extra mile,” Kowalski said. “I am so incredibly excited for her; but not for her students, because I know they will miss her tremendously. I’m so excited for her to make a difference at the secondary level.”

Penick is thrilled to begin a new chapter of her educational career.

“I’m really excited to try something new, and work with the students and the staff at the secondary level,” she said. “I am very excited about this role, but I will miss my students very much.”

A 16-year veteran of the district, Michelle Pachla is moving from the middle school to fill a void as the math instructional coach at Park Elementary.

“Ms. Pachla is one of the best teachers in the district, plain and simple,” Broadnax said. “She has a great personality. I’ve had the opportunity to see her quite a bit when I’m over at the middle school. I’ve probably stopped by her room more recently than in other classrooms in the middle school. Her personality, she kind of sticks out. She will be a great fit for this position. I know she came from Parker and she interviewed well with me and the president. I think she’ll do a great job.”

Kowalski added: “Ms. Pachla is going to be phenomenal in this role. She’s going to do some very compelling work at Parker in the area of mathematics. I appreciate what she did last year on taking a couple of coaching periods and she’s really gained an interest in taking additional coaching roles. So congratulations, Michelle. You’re going to do great.”

Pachla, who started in the district in 2005, is excited to return to Parker.

“I am really looking forward to going back to my elementary home where I was for 13 years,” she said. “I’m looking forward to heading there and working with the teachers and kids in this capacity. It’s a little bit different for me, but I’m really looking forward to it.”