Welcome to Emily, who is a long-term substitute consultant teacher at Glendale Elementary! With one year of teaching experience in third grade in Massachusetts, and two summers of teaching ERIE 1 BOCES summer school, she is thrilled to be working in our Sweet Home district. In Emily’s spare time she enjoys going for walks, hiking, skiing, spending time with family and friends, and going to the gym.

Alessandra joins the Panthers teaching third grade this year at Glendale Elementary!  Before arriving at Glendale, she taught third grade for five years in another district.  She enjoys traveling, camping and her dogs!

We are proud to welcome to our ranks Mandy Woodward who is teaching in an 8:1:1 Kindergarten / Special Education classroom at Glendale Elementary! Mandy received her BA in Sociology from Fordham University where she also played Division I softball. Upon returning home to Buffalo, she took a position at The Summit Center as a 1:1 aide. She was reminded instantly of the magic that can only be found in the classroom and sought her Masters in Special Education. She comes to Sweet Home with 11 years of experience from The Summit Center. She loves hanging out with her family, including her husband, Geoffrey, her daughter Olivia, her son, Becker, and her dog, Slinky. She also enjoys playing softball, bowling, hot sauce with every meal, chocolate after every meal, and rocking out to GoNoodle!

Wendy joins us with 15 years of experience working as a school counselor. Wendy is pleased to be part of the Willow Ridge staff as their school counselor. She has worked with at-risk youth at Gateway Longview and in a Restorative Justice Program at Children & Family Services with roles including facilitating groups, coordinating two youthful offender programs, and providing family therapy. In her spare time, she enjoys running and spending time outdoors (except in the winter!) with her husband
and four children.

Greetings to Jessica who was hired this year as an Elementary Music and Chorus teacher at Willow Ridge! Jessica has 10 years of experience teaching music and enjoys traveling, reading and exercising.

Sweet Home is so proud that Lauren is joining the teaching ranks in the same district she attended and graduated from! Lauren is teaching grade 2 at Willow Ridge this year! She attended the University at Buffalo, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science-Interdisciplinary with a concentration in Early Childhood. She continued her studies at the University at Buffalo to obtain her Master’s Degree in Childhood Education and NYS Certification Grades 1-6. This year is her 11th year teaching elementary students.  She taught in the Maryvale School District, and was also a program aide at Heritage Heights in our district. She is thrilled to return to Sweet Home, now being a part of our Sweet Home community once again. When she is not in the classroom, she can be found spending time outdoors boating, running or just reading a good book in the sunshine. She also enjoys cooking, shopping, and being silly with her six-year old son, Cameron!

Welcome to Catherine who will be teaching Kindergarten at Heritage Heights this year!  She comes to Sweet Home with three years of teaching experience. She enjoys reading, knitting, and working her way through the Johnny C’s Sandwich Challenge!

Welcome back to Sweet Home Travis! Travis is a proud graduate of Sweet Home and he joins the Heritage Heights staff this year as a Physical Education teacher. Travis is in his second year of teaching elementary students. He enjoys playing baseball in a summer men’s league.

Greetings to Jacob who is part of the staff at Heritage Heights teaching 3rd grade this year!  Jacob has five years of experience as a 3rd grade teacher at Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School. He enjoys spending as much time as possible with his family and friends. On Saturdays, you can see him at the Bidwell Farmers’ Market in Buffalo for a local patisserie called Butter Block. He also loves watching Netflix!

We would like to welcome Aziza to the Middle School, where she is teaching Art (6th, 8th and Digital Media)! Aziza has seven years of teaching Elementary Art in Dryden, NY. She received her BA from SUNY UB in Fine Arts, her Teaching Certification from Buffalo State, and her Masters in Visual Arts Education from SUNY New Paltz.  Her hobbies include baking, running and reading.

Born and raised in Buffalo, we are pleased to welcome Jessica to the Middle School, where she is teaching ENL learners in grades 6, 7, and 8. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Niagara University. After graduation, she moved to Maryland and taught ENL for two years to students in Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. She is so happy to return to the Western New York area! Her hobbies include reading, traveling, and playing with her Cavalier King Charles spaniel Mia.

Kara joins the Middle School this year teaching Speech Therapy for grades 6 through 8. She received her undergraduate degree from SUNY Fredonia and went on to earn her Master’s degree from Buffalo State. She worked for 10 years at Heritage Education program. After her children were born, she worked part-time for 3 years at Summit, providing home-based speech therapy as well as administering speech evaluations. She then decided to become a stay at home mom until her children entered high school. Three years ago, she began working as a long-term speech substitute in our district. She has also been providing speech services for our summer school program since summer 2016. Her hobbies include baking and cooking, playing with her dogs (Snickers and Fergus), and rooting for her children’s sports teams. Her son runs high school cross country and track and her daughter rows for St. John Fisher College. She loves to travel and her favorite place is Disney World!

Cheryl was a part of the Sweet Home family beginning last March, but we are so pleased she is continuing with us as a School Counselor at the Middle School. Cheryl was tenured at Clarence CSD and then resigned to be home with her family. She long term substituted in various school districts until she was hired by our district last March. She has nine years of experience in the counseling field. Her hobbies include: walking, gardening, volunteering, and hanging out with her family and Goldendoodle.

Lily is joining Sweet Home High School as a long-term substitute in the English department after student teaching in the same place! She is currently teaching 11th and 12th grade English. Her hobbies include: improv comedy, attending concerts, yoga, and hanging out with her pets. Welcome Lily!

Amy joins our High School Business Department after having experiences in teaching and in the managerial world. Originally she wanted to teach Business at the collegiate level. She taught Family & Consumer Science for the past six years at Niagara- Wheatfield. Before becoming a teacher she was a retail manager and then moved into banking where she worked her way through college at Buffalo State. She is originally from North Carolina, moved here on a whim for one summer, and never returned because she loves Buffalo’s culture, and food.

Naryan is an excellent addition to our High School Social Studies department where he is teaching 9th grade Global Studies and 12th grade Participation in Government. He taught for 10 years at Tapestry Charter School in the Social Studies and ELA departments. For those of you who don’t know, Naryan is an international touring
musician performing on the sitar.