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Teaching and Learning

Teaching & Learning

Contact Info

Phone: (203) 977-4098
              (203) 977-5106

Address: Office: 5th floor (North)
                 888 Washington Blvd.
                 Stamford, CT 06904
                 United States

See map: Google Maps

The Stamford Public Schools Teaching & Learning Department supports the work of more than 1,600 state-certified educators and administrators across the district’s 25 schools and academic programs. 

The Teaching & Learning Department provides SPS educators with the resources and professional development required to meet the academic and social emotional needs of Stamford’s 16,400+ students in PreK through Grade 12.  

The Teaching & Learning Department is comprised of six teams: 

  1. Early Childhood (Birth to Age 5) 

  1. Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, Elementary (PreK-5) 

  1. Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, Secondary (6-12) 

  1. Special Education & Related Services 

  1. Enrichment & Supplemental Programs 

  1. Systems & Student Outcome Data  

 


Teaching & Learning  
Amy C. Beldotti Chief Academic Officer

Kendra Brown 

Director, Early Childhood 

Sherri Prendergast 

Director, Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, Elementary (PreK-5) 

Colleen Weiner 

Director, Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, Secondary (6-12) 

Meghan Osowiecki 

Director, Special Education & Related Services 

Cheryl Poltrack 

Director, Enrichment & Special Programs 

Scott Clayton 

Director, Systems & Student Outcome Data  

Deborah Amaro 

Executive Secretary  

 

In addition to the full-time Teaching & Learning staff, building-based K-12 teachers are hired by the district, as needed, to work on curriculum committees and other projects during non-school hours. During the 2023-24 school year, more than 250 SPS educators were hired to help develop and write curriculum as part of the District’s 3-year project to bring curriculum in all content areas and across all grade levels to gold-star standard.  

Early Childhood Development & Intervention (Birth to Age 5) 

The Early Childhood Team works directly with more than 350 students who attend the APPLES PreK program operated by Stamford Public Schools. In addition, they provide school readiness and kindergarten transition guidance and support to more than 80 Early Childhood Programs throughout Stamford to help ensure children make a successful transition to kindergarten.  

Kendra Brown 

Director  

Cynthia Manifold-Dougherty 

Assistant Director  

Brooke Pelli 

Assistant Director  

 

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, Elementary (PreK-5) 

The Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment team plans, develops, and directs the implementation of curriculum and assessments in all content areas in grades PreK-5 and is also responsible for the creation and delivery of professional learning opportunities in support of high-quality classroom instruction. This team also manages the early kindergarten admission assessment process as well as the Multilingual Learner Programs in elementary schools.  

 

Sherri Prendergast 

Director  

Heather Corrente 

Assistant Director (Humanities)  

Jon Kolman 

Assistant Director (STEM/STEAM)  

Tracy Stuart 

TOSA MTSS (Humanities) 

Amanda Casagrande 

TOSA MTSS (STEM/STEAM)   

 

TOSA MTSS = Teacher on Special Assignment for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support 

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, Secondary (6-12) 

The Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment team plans, develops, and directs the implementation of curriculum and assessments in all content areas in grades 6-12 and also is responsible for the creation and delivery of professional learning opportunities in support of high-quality classroom instruction. This team also manages the Multilingual Learner Programs in secondary schools.  

 

Colleen Weiner 

Director  

Dr. Laura Greene 

Assistant Director (Humanities)  

Rob de Andrade 

Assistant Director (STEM/STEAM)  

Dr. Claudia Berlage 

Assistant Director (Pathways/CTE/PE) 

Mary Enright 

TOSA MTSS (Humanities) 

Michelle Phillips 

TOSA MTSS (STEM/STEAM)   

Adam Scianna 

TOSA MTSS (Pathways/CTE/PE) 

Yasmin Tirado 

TOSA for SPS Welcome Center  

Lauren Bachner 

TOSA for Multilingual Learner Support 

Sandy Schwoerer 

TOSA for Multilingual Learner Support 

 

Special Education & Related Services 

The Special Education & Student Support Services team works to ensure that students with disabilities have access to specialized instruction, related services, and accommodations so they can reach their full learning potential. This team also oversees the district's K-12 social emotional learning programs and student support services including social work, psychology, and speech language pathology. More than 16 percent of SPS students qualified for special education services in 2023-24.  

 

Kimberly Arruda-Gulitz 

Department Head, BCBA 

Joe O'Callaghan 

Department Head, Social Work 

Rachel Bria 

Department Head, Psychology 

Kerry Murphy 

Department Head, Speech Pathology 

Lauren Powell 

TOSA, K-12 IEP Compliance 

Kimberly Arruda-Gulitz 

IEP Compliance Teacher, Elementary 

Lee-Ann Baranowski 

IEP Compliance Teacher, Elementary 

TBD 

IEP Compliance Teacher, Middle Schools 

TBD 

IEP Compliance Teacher, High Schools 

Jacqueline Rende 

IEP Compliance Teacher, APPLES 

Carol Policastro 

Office Support Specialist 

Laura Marino 

Out of District Team - Social Work 

Amy Ofiero 

Out of District Team - IEP Compliance 

Amanda Carrasco 

Out of District Team - Psychologist 

Angela Arteaga  

Out of District Team - Administrative Coordinator 

 

Enrichment and Supplemental Programs 

The Enrichment and Supplemental Programs team manages nearly 20 district-wide, multi-million-dollar grants that support both in-school programming (e.g. Title I and Title IV grants) and after school enrichment programming (e.g. ALTA, Extended School Hours, and 21st Century grants). This team manages the grant application process as well as budgeting, implementation, evaluation, and reporting for all grants received.  

Cheryl Poltrack 

Director 

Marie Underwood 

Data Management Specialist 

 

Systems & Student Outcome Data 

The Systems & Student Outcome Data Team manages the district-wide Data Team and research workflows, and supports district-wide attendance reporting, state testing, and state data reporting. This team is also responsible for the district’s technology planning and implementation, including budgeting and hardware and software training and support.  

 

Scott Clayton 

Director 

Alec Iogman 

Assistant Director, Technology Integration 

Jeanette Christian 

TOSA for Technology