Interview with Ms. DeMarco

By Miriam Gross

 

 

             This year, Ms. Demarco of Resource Room fame has been promoted to Coordinator of Secular Studies, so Presschester caught up with her in the Resource Room to see what exactly her new position entails and what this means for the coming year.

 

Presschester: You have a new position this year. Previously, you’ve just run the Resource Room. However, this year you’re also in charge of secular studies.

Ms. DeMarco: Yes, Coordinator of Secular Studies.

 

P.C.: So what exactly does that entail?

M.D.: That means that I oversee the secular studies curriculum. That's for science, it's for math, it's for history, and it's for English. I also am checking to make sure that all the assignments that are given are completed by the students.

 

P.C.: What do you mean by completed by the students?

M.D.:That their homework is completed on time. A piece of my job is checking up on people's work to make sure they're on task.

 

P.C.: That's a lot. You check up on every student?

M.D.: Yes, it is a lot of stuff. And then at the same time, I'm also making sure that the teachers post everything that they have to to MyStudentsProgress. And if parents have a question about how their child is doing in a particular secular studies class, they'll call me. Another piece of my responsibility is if we're going to have professional development for the teachers, I'll be helping to plan that professional development.

 

P.C.: You also got a new office in the library. How is that?

M.D.:It's kind of nice. When I actually have a chance to go up there I like to look out the window at the Long Island Sound. It's very peaceful.

 

P.C.: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of being the new Secular Studies Coordinator?

M.D.: My favorite part is really getting to expand my own professional knowledge. I'm learning how to observe teachers; I'm learning how to balance that position along with working in the Resource Room and also teaching an American Literature Class. The least favorite part of the job is the additional paperwork.

 

P.C.:What's the biggest thing you hope to accomplish this year, by coordinating the secular classes?

M.D.: The big goal is really just to make the school even stronger academically. To have their be more consistency in the curriculum, to have the parents, the students, and the teachers work together. We're a small school, but there are students with many different learning styles. The goal is to have a curriculum that can meet the needs of all the students in the school, and what's the best way? How can we work together to take an English curriculum, a science curriculum, a history curriculum, and make the connections between them, so you're not just teaching history in isolation?

 

P.C.: You mentioned consistency within lessons. What do you mean by that?

M.D.: Consistency in that books that you read in 9th grade are not going to be repeated when you're in a later grade, so it's a more established curriculum.

 

P.C.: So it works better when you're going up from 9th to 10th and so forth?

M.D.:Yes. And as far as the writing, to introduce a certain writing system in 9th grade that's then is carried through in 10th, 11th, and 12th. And not just for the English classes, it's the same format that teachers would use in other subjects.

 

P.C.: Fun questions now! What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

M.D.: My favorite is pistachio.

 

P.C.: Do you have a favorite pair of socks?

M.D.: I indeed do. They are green and they have a little purple on the toes, and they have a little purple on the heel, and I wear them in the winter when it's cold because I love wearing them and then sliding along my wooden floors.

 

P.C.: Final question: What are you most excited for, to happen this year? And it could be anything, it doesn't just have to relate to your job.

M.D.: I'm most excited about seeing the class of 2015 graduate.