Fairfield Schools Welcome 65 New Teacher as School Begins

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Joining the back-to-school rush, 65 new teachers and four administrators will make their debut in Fairfield Public Schools this fall.

Adding 65 educators to the district is in line with hiring in recent years, according to information provided by Director of Human Resources Ann Leffert. Fairfield hired 72 new teachers last school year, 70 for the 2014-2015 year, 58 in the 2013-2014 year and 78 in the 2012-2013 year.

Of the new teachers for the 2016-2017 school year, 27 will be at elementary schools, 23 at high schools and 11 at middle schools. Four will be teaching pre-K.

Three of the four district administrative hires are at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, filling the roles of athletic director, director of pupil services and guidance and housemaster for Wright House, according to Headmaster Greg Hatzis. The jobs opened due to two retirements and one promotion.

Fairfield Warde High School Headmaster David Ebling said the school’s 17 new staff members — including teachers and counselors — are relatively standard for annual hires. The new teachers and staff are filling open positions due to resignations and retirements as well as addressing a modest enrollment increase, he said.

As the new school year approaches, the dozens of new hires from kindergarten up through principal roles are settling into new classrooms and offices, preparing to meet a rush of new students next week. Among them are recently hired Tomlinson Middle School Principal Anthony Formato and Nikki Wocl, a kindergarten teacher new to the district.

School Principal: Anthony Formato, Tomlinson Middle

The path to a career in education for Tomlinson Middle School’s new principal began when he was inspired by another administrator in town, Fairfield Warde High School Headmaster David Ebling.

At the time, Ebling was a social studies teacher at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Fairfield, and Anthony Formato was a high school junior in his class.

It was really the way that he didn’t let students get by with just minimal work,” Formato said. “He saw the potential in each of his students and he made sure that he put all of his effort into getting the potential out of each of his students.”

Formato was among the students not putting in his full effort, but Ebling saw his potential, made sure he worked harder and helped him be successful.

“The feeling I got from that success told me I could do it and that was really the first time it resonated with me in the academic world,” Formato recalled.

The Bridgeport native went on to get his degree from Eastern Connecticut State University and become a social studies teacher like Ebling.

Formato’s first job was in Fairfield Public Schools, teaching and coaching baseball. He eventually became a high school dean in the district before taking a job as assistant principal at Bedford Middle School in Westport.

After nine years as an administrator in the neighboring town, Formato returned to Fairfield three years ago as a housemaster at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, a post he said helped him gain more special education experience.

Formato wanted to rejoin the district because of Fairfield’s strong community support for education, from the PTA and school administration to local business and police support, he said. He said he also enjoys the town’s diverse community.

“It makes Fairfield a very unique place that has tremendous amounts of opportunity for all people,” he said.

Formato’s desire to return to middle school administration was a result of liking how interdisciplinary middle school learning can be and enjoying the teamwork style used for supporting middle school students. He also likes being able to provide the balance of academic and emotional support that is right for middle school-aged kids, he added.

As a former social studies teacher, Formato also loves the history in Tomlinson’s building, which once housed Roger Ludlowe High School. Of discoveries he has made while settling into the building, Formato found a vintage sconce in a closet in the building, which he hung on his office wall.

Also adorning his new office is a small portrait of a Marine in uniform. The woman was a former Ludlowe student who struggled with behavioral issues and her classes early in high school. Working with a team at the school, Formato helped her to successfully graduate and she later brought him the photo when she visited Ludlowe.

When he is not at Tomlinson, Formato enjoys spending time outside with his family, as well as fishing, traveling, exercising and golf. He said he tries to keep up with reading young adult literature and has competitions with his wife to see who can read more books. But Formato’s wife, an English teacher at Fairfield Woods Middle School, always wins, he said.

Nikki Wocl, kindergarten teacher at Mill Hill Elementary School

Eighteen kindergarteners will be in Miss Wocl’s first Fairfield class this school year.

Nikki Wocl first decided she wanted to be a teacher when she was in first grade and her passion for teaching has never wavered. Her first grade teacher made Wocl feel like she was the only one in the class, a feeling that stuck with her as she got older, and one that she hopes to now pass on to her students.

During her sophomore year practicum in college, Wocl saw a child’s name on the board, indicating he would be missing recess for not doing his homework. She sat with him, worked on the homework with him and gave him attention as he slowly warmed up to her and made progress before her eyes.

“It really confirmed in my heart that this is what I need to do,” she said.

Now as a teacher, Wocl likes to greet every student by name each morning, among other efforts to make students feel special.

“I like to let them know that someone cares, that they’re important to me,” she said.

The Trumbull native attended Providence College, graduating in 2013. Wocl then got a master’s degree from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield and began her first teaching job.

Her master’s program has given Wocl tools to help kindergarteners move toward reading and make the goal attainable for 4- and 5-year-olds, she said. Wocl added that kindergarten is an essential time for students to build reading skills and a love for reading and coming to school each day.

Wocl taught a kindergarten class in Milford for two years before her recent hiring at Mill Hill. She said she chose to join theFairfield school district because she had heard positive things about the curriculum and administrative support for teachers and students in town schools.

At Mill Hill, Wocl hopes to be involved in school improvement programs and increasing the use of technology for teaching, especially at the kindergarten level. Mostly though, she looks forward to being at the elementary school a few years and know students as she walks the halls.

Wocl has some experience with Fairfield schools already, having judged gymnastics at town high schools. Wocl did gymnastics growing up and continues to judge for high schools in the area.

In her classroom design, Wocl likes things around the room to match. As the school year starts, she said her students will quickly see that she loves three things in her classroom style: black-and-white chevron patterns, high heels and pink.

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Source- http://www.fairfieldcitizenonline.com/news/article/Fairfield-schools-to-welcome-65-new-teachers-9185130.php