WELCOME!

Committed to Excellence

ATTENTION: Annual Dues-$20.

ATTENTION: Annual scholarship fund-please donate! (one check for both is fine)

Mail check, made out to- WSR, to:

Connie Champlin

157 Rushmore St.

Westbury NY 11590

**ATTENTION: Please contribute to Vote Cope!

Vote Cope dollars secured legislation to guarantee automatic cost-of-living pension increases for its public school retirees.

WSR contributed $4094 from 69 members.

Check out the link below to see more your Vote Cope dollars do for you.

VOTE COPE info

About Westbury Schools Retirees

Who We Are

We are the retired teachers of the Westbury Union Free School District in Westbury, New York, the retiree chapter of the WTA (Westbury Teachers' Association) and a member of NYSUT RC 19 (Retiree Council-19).
The District's schools include: Westbury High School, Westbury Middle School, Drexel Ave, Powell's Lane, Park Ave, and Dryden St.

Westbury Teachers' Association link

NYSTRS link

Westbury Schools

Retirees Executive Board

New members of the Executive Board:

DONNA SABELLA, vice president and co-WTA Liaison and

JENNIFER LOUGHRAN, communications director.

Welcome Donna and Jennifer!:)

COVID19 and the new normal: We have been meeting through ZOOM. We plan and brainstorm, keeping all our members up-to-date on pertinent information. Check out "Latest News" to view the brochure we are sending to all new retirees going forward. Although we were not able to hold our luncheons in 2020, we held two Zoom membership meetings in January and June. Our first outdoor, in-person, fall luncheon was Sept. 22, 2021. Our latest Zoom membership meeting was held October 18, 2021 at 2pm. Our holiday luncheon was Dec. 8, 2021 at Westbury Manor.

Seated left-right:: Carol Gardiner- Vote Cope & Co-WTA Liaison; Mary Mayrick- former Recording Secretary; Marjorie Parente- former Co-Vice President. Standing left-right;; Grace Bryant- Legislative Representative; Camille Lupa- Scholarship Committee; Dorie Ciulla- President; Connie Champlin- Treasurer; Judy Bernstein- Newsletter Editor; Diane Watson- Recording Secretary & Webmaster. Not pictured:: Cathy Handy- Corresponding Secretary, Donna Sabella- Vice President & Co-WTA Liaison. Jennifer Loughran- Communications Director

RC19 Newsletter Winter 2021

RC 19 November Meeting 2021

WELCOME 2020 and 2021 RETIREES!

Get to Know Us

Below are bio submissions from 2020/2021 retirees. (See complete list of 2021 retirees on our 'Latest News' page)

Fran Doyno

Hello to the Westbury Retirees,
My name is Fran Doyno and I have been employed at the Powells Lane School for the past 31 years as an elementary school teacher. I have taught grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 in general education, MAP, and STEAM. I have also taught summer school for BOCES as an ENL teacher for the past three years. I served for five years on the teacher evaluation committee for the district. In retirement, I am spending as much time as possible with my husband, children, and four grandchildren and look forward to the time when we will be able to travel.

Christine Corbett

I taught 31+ years at the Powells Lane Elementary School. The first 16 years I was a third grade teacher, and the remainder of my years were spent teaching ELA/ Reading, mostly grades 3, 4 & 5. I was blessed to have the opportunity to work in the same building for so many years. Not only did I form life long friendships, but I also got to know the families of the students who went to the school. The balance of the two made Powells Lane feel like a second home. Leaving was bittersweet!

During my years in Westbury Public Schools I became active in the teachers union, Westbury Teachers Association(WTA). Over the course of almost 25 years, I served as a Building Representative for Powells Lane School and seven years on the Executive Board, fulfilling a number of roles. I served as Vice President/Grievance Officer for the Westbury Teachers Association for 8 years and then became President of the WTA and served as the local leader until I retired from Westbury Public Schools in November 2019 to accept a position with our state association, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). Over the years, the WTA won many battles, some very public and others behind the scenes. Much of the successes were in part to the many people who engaged within organization. And for their involvement, I am grateful. After all, in numbers, there is strength!

Presently, I am a Labor Relations Specialist(LRS) with NYSUT. I support individual local unions by assisting with engaging members, and growing the union movement by promoting the image and vision of NYSUT. My role of advocate extends beyond securing compensation and additionally focuses on identifying all workplace issues as opportunities to organize, engage and support members’ needs. During the COVID pandemic this was a critical element of my role as LRS. I am enjoying this new role, but I do miss the interaction with children.

Although I have created a new chapter in my life, I will never forget the amazing, dedicated, professionals that I worked with and the support, love and friendship I received over the years during my years in the Westbury School District.

In solidarity,

Jennifer Loughran

I worked at Park ave in 1985 as an aide with Grace Bryant. I loved working with her class and decided to go back to school to get my teaching degree.
In January of 1988 I was hired at Park Avenue as a leave replacement for a kindergarten class. I was giving a contract that September. I began my career at Park as a first grade teacher and then became a kindergarten/pre k teacher before we moved over to Dryden Street.
In 1991 we moved to Dryden with a small group of fabulous colleagues and I taught kindergarten for many years and then pre-k.
I was transferred back to Park Ave around 2014. Here I taught second grade and reunited with many of the teachers that I began my career with and ultimately ended my career with. So you can say I came full circle.
I retired this past June(2020). Because of COVID I have not been able to travel or really do much else. I started taking a zoom crocheting class which I love. I've made ponchos, hats, scarves, mittens, a child’s dress, cardigan sweater, shawls and wash cloths. I’ve also done various house projects. Some I do and some I design and then my husband builds it. Our last project was an outdoor bar/ grill area.
I plan on getting back into photography since I was a photography major in college.
I’m anxiously waiting my turn to get the vaccine so I can visit my family who are all out of state.

Estelle Saltiel

My professional career within the Westbury School District began in January, 2001. I was hired mid-year to work at the Dryden Street School as a school psychologist. This is the school district’s early childhood school consisting of all the district’s pre-school and kindergarten students along with a K to 1st grade special education class. I also held the district-wide position as the Chairperson of the Committee on Preschool Special Education for more than a dozen years. Prior to this, I worked for a decade as a school psychologist in a special education preschool, 3 years in the NYC Board of Education, a year in the Levittown SD and a year in a clinical hospital setting.

My early career included being a NYC Board of Education elementary teacher in the South Bronx.

I retired from the Westbury School District in July, 2020. Currently, I am a volunteer at an immigration center helping immigrants prepare for their citizenship exam. I also paint and create pottery.

Donna Sabella

I have lived in Westbury for 44 years and began my involvement with the schools 40 years ago with my involvement in the PAT Club and subsequent involvement in PTA on the building, district, region, state and national levels. I began my professional career as a substitute teacher at Park, Drexel and Dryden before becoming a Pre-K and Kindergarten Teacher at Dryden for 25 years. At Dryden I held the positions of Math mentor, Testing Coordinator and new Teacher mentor. I served on many building committees, including SPMT, various curriculum committees, assembly committees, staff development committee and others. I was the building RA representing Dryden at the WTA Meetings. Since retirement I am learning Italian, reading and have been the Teacher Rep in several CPSE meetings. I look forward to the world turning again so I can travel and be more involved on the community level.

Patricia Matarazzo

We have moved to Wilmington,NC and are enjoying retirement. We play pickleball a few times a week and love it. I volunteer at a local art museum and with their children’s camps. I am also working becoming a docent at a historical museum in our downtown. All my years of teaching supports me in these great volunteering positions. God is good!

Yvonne Cunningham

Yvonne is a Westbury native. In 1987 she was hired by the same district that educated her. She taught at Park Ave School for 34 wonderful years. She was fortunate to work alongside two great principals during her career- Delores Hunter and Gloria Dingwall.

It had always been a dream of hers to give back to the community in which she was raised and she is happy to share that her dream came true. Yvonne thoroughly enjoyed interacting and educating children in New Cassel.

Now that she is retired, she is exploring a whole new world outside of education.

Yvonne enjoys gardening, reading, catching up with friends, and watching football with her husband Pete. While she does not know all that this new chapter will hold for her, she looks forward to volunteering in some capacity throughout the Westbury area in the future.