Who are the new teachers in Griswold Public Schools? More than a dozen new hires for 2022

GRISWOLD — Griswold Public Schools has 14 new hires who started with the school year, according to Community Relations and Special Projects Coordinator Kayla Hedman.

Of them, two are high school alums, three are returning teachers, and one is both.

This is the first normal school year for students since the pandemic, especially for the seniors. In turn, this year is an opportunity to reset the expectations of students from the academic and community point of view, said Art Howe, the high school's new associate principal.

New hires for the new school year are:

Art Howe – Griswold High School associate principal and former Griswold High School business teacher, from 1999 to 2004Megan Davis – Griswold High School special education teacher and Griswold High School graduateLogan Tonucci – Griswold High School history/social studies teacher, returning teacher and Griswold High School graduateCole Bocciarelli – Griswold High School history/social studies teacher and Griswold High School graduateAlicia Schaefer – Griswold High School English teacher and returning intern

Chloe Fitzgerald – Griswold Middle School English language arts teacher and returning teacherVictoria Klimas – Sacred Heart internSamantha McShane – Griswold Middle school math teacherKailey Jones – Griswold Middle School music teacher and Stonington High School graduateOlivia Knotts – Griswold Elementary School grade 4 teacherShannon Murphy – Griswold Elementary School psychologistMackenzie Donovan – Griswold Elementary School internAbby Merchant – Griswold Elementary School internDeborah Martin – Director of Fiscal and Personnel Services

Griswold footballAfter a disappointing 2021 season, Griswold football optimistic for a comeback in 2022.

There are also five staff members new as of 2022, but who started their jobs last school year:

Kiley Flynn - Griswold High School counselor and Griswold High School graduateLorenzo Chavez – Griswold High School counselorCarly Sebastian – Griswold Elementary School teacherAllison Schoen – speech pathologistAlyssa Rubino – Griswold Elementary School special education teacher

The Bulletin interviewed two of the new hires, Cole Bocciarelli and Art Howe.

Cole Bocciarelli, Griswold High School sophomore social studies teacher

Cole Bocciarelli, Class of 2016, was a substitute at Griswold High School during the prior school year. Now, he has his own class as a sophomore social studies teacher, with a different perspective on things.

“A lot of things are different and it’s only been six or seven years (since graduating),” he said. “A good different, though.”

CT jobs in agricultureAs farmers get older, a crucial workforce is vanishing. What's being done?

While it was a challenge to start substituting mid-year, Bocciarelli said that experience helped him build a rapport with the students.

“I know roughly 90% of the kids in the building, so it’s made things easier,” Bocciarelli said.

His class will give an overview about governments around the world, and then dive into how U.S. government and politics work, and have independent student work on the class material, he said. Later in the year, there will also be international modern history.

Bocciarelli wants to see his students engaging with the material and forming their own opinions, as they’ll be voters before long. He also wants to keep the learning fun.

Ellis Tech state investigationState police reopened the Ellis Tech gun investigation and made an arrest. What we know.

“This shouldn’t be the class the kids are not wanting to come to,” Bocciarelli said.

Bocciarelli also wants to help with extracurriculars, including the student sports broadcasting club GSPN, the Mr. GHS competition, and public service.

Bocciarelli said the students will learn the content, but will also learn responsibility, accountability, and be acclimated to real life.

Art Howe, associate principal at Griswold High School

Art Howe was already at Griswold High, from 1999 to 2003, his first teaching job. He’s now coming back as an associate principal. Though he’s part of the administration, Howe wants to be a familiar and interactive face for the students.

“I’m not going to sit in my office,” he said. “I’ll be at the games. I’ll be at the plays.”

Some colleagues of Howe’s are still remembering him from their own student days, and he said it won’t be too long before he starts seeing children of the students he taught.

Woodstock Fair 2022Chainsaw carving, live music and a beef show? A guide to the 2022 Woodstock Fair.

The high school has embraced educational experiences outside of the traditional ones, from students participating in Harvard Forestry’s Schoolyard Ecology Program, to the creation of an e-sports team. Howe wants to continue these experiences, as “getting kids to see what happens in all of those jobs and all of those things is absolutely wonderful.”

It’s worth checking in on Griswold High’s cell phone and social media policies to make sure the teens are fully attentive during the school day, but the school is otherwise moving in the right direction, Howe said.

Howe wants the parents to know that any student can succeed, even if they make mistakes.

“Mistakes are a bump in a road you then fix and move on,” Howe said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: New teachers, staff at Griswold Public Schools for 2022-2023 year