The PJSTA Endorsements For May 17th

Union siblings,

This spring will hold the first contested school board election in Comsewogue in the last several years. Over the past few weeks the twelve members of the PJSTA PAC Committee worked diligently to get to know the five candidates who are competing for the two open seats. That work culminated last Thursday evening when our team spent several hours interviewing and conversing with each of the candidates. Following those interviews the committee passed along a unanimous endorsement recommendation to the PJSTA Executive Board who quickly approved the recommendation for endorsement. 

Today I am happy to share with you that the PJSTA is endorsing Francisca Alabau-Blatter and Robert DeStefano for re-election on May 17th. While no candidate is perfect and it is impossible to boil our decision down to just one factor, the fact that we have had a good working relationship with both Ms. Alabau-Blatter and Mr. DeStefano for over a decade reassured us that this was the right move for us. The past two years have been tumultuous times for everyone and having the steady consistency and proven leadership that these two candidates bring to the table could not be overlooked.

As a teacher in Central Islip and our NYSUT sister, Ms. Alabau-Blatter provides the school board with the perspective of an educator. Mr. Destefano has long shown an ability to unite different parts of our community and is viewed by all who know him as a genuine, honest, and civically minded person.

Tomorrow you will be receiving another email highlighting some of the ways that we need you involved over the next two weeks. A PJSTA endorsement means little without putting the strength of our 320 members behind it. We will be asking everyone to chip in over the next two weeks, whether it is phone banking, putting up signs, social media posts, or all of the above. This is a great opportunity to show our collective strength!
Brian St. PierrePJSTA President

New York State Teachers’ Retirement System Seminar

On Tuesday, June 7th from 4:00-5:30 pm at the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in Port Jefferson, the PJSTA and Port Jefferson Teachers Association will be hosting a Retirement Seminar. It is open to members of both the PJSTA and the PJTA. For security purposes the hosting school has asked to have a list of attendees to the seminar prior to June 7th. Therefore we are requesting that those who plan to attend RSVP by completing this form by Friday, June 3rd. The seminar will be led by Eric Iberger. Mr. Iberger is the president of the Bayport-Blue Point Teachers Association. Additionally he is one of three teacher members on the 10-member NYSTRS Retirement Board.

Brian St. Pierre – PJSTA President

The Comsewogue Board of Education Votes on Tenure Recipients

On April 8th, 2021, the Comsewogue Board of Education voted to award tenure to 14 amazing Teachers and Teaching Assistants beginning in September of 2021. Congratulations on years of hard work and dedication to the Comsewogue Schools, your students, and the PJSTA! We warmly welcome you aboard! From left to right: Jaclyn Harris, Marlee Cole, Arezoo Ahmadyieh, Carmen Genao, Peter Valerio, Peter Esposito, Karen Casey, Eileen Valane, Danielle Falci, Mary Nicholson, Alex Wessel, Dani DiBona-Hoey, Jenn Lahovitch, Natalie Rubenstein

Congratulations Teddi!

Clinton Avenue’s 1st Grade Teacher Teddi Weik was honored by Comsewogue’s Board of Education on Monday, March 1, 2021 for her outstanding work on the online learning platform, Seesaw. Teddi has been named as a Seesaw Ambassador and one of her lesson plans has been accepted to Seesaw’s worldwide database. Congratulations, Teddi!