Teaching and 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:
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 |