RCSD New Faces: Rye Middle School

There are new faces, new positions and old faces at new positions at the Rye City School District this fall. Here is a look at the new folks at Rye Middle School.

Rye Middle School

Administrator

Kristie Orlando

Assistant Principal, Rye Middle School

If Ms. Orlando’s name is familiar, it may be because she was named the District’s Teacher of the Year for 2020-21 and has worked in the School District for 13 years as both a teacher and an Instructional Technology Staff Developer.

Ms. Orlando joined the Rye City School District in 2008 as a World Languages teacher and was granted tenure in 2011. For nine years, she taught Spanish at Rye Middle School. As a teacher, she was always at the forefront of instructional technology. In 2017, she applied for and received the position of teacher on special assignment/Instructional Technology Specialist, supporting teachers and administrators in grades 6-12.  She served as the Instructional Technology Staff Developer for the Middle and High School for four years.

Prior to coming to Rye, Kristie worked as an 8th grade Spanish teacher at P.S./I.S. 194 in Bronx, N.Y. She has a B.A. from Muhlenberg College with a Major in Spanish and an M.A. in Bilingual/Bicultural Studies from Teachers College at Columbia University.

Teachers

Courtney Dougherty

Reading Teacher

Ms. Dougherty comes to Rye Middle School to fill a new position, that of reading teacher for students grades 6-8.  In this role, she will assist students who are struggling with reading, identify and administer interventions, and serve as a bridge between students and general education teachers. Ms. Dougherty most recently worked as an English Language Arts Teacher at Ditmas Junior High School I.S. 62 and as a Literacy Intervention Teacher at Williamsburg Charter High School, both in Brooklyn.  She has a B.S. in Childhood Education from SUNY Cortland, and an M.Ed. in Literacy K-12 from Providence College.

Allyson Furcick

Social Studies Teacher

Ms. Furcick comes to RMS from Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Middle School in Ravena, NY, where she taught 7th grade social studies as well as an SEL intervention course for the past two years. Previously, she taught 10th grade U.S. History  and Financial Literacy courses at Westfield High School in Westfield, MA, and 8th-grade U.S. History and 9th-grade World Geography at the Nea Community Learning Center, a charter school in Alameda, CA. She has a B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Education from Commonwealth Honors College and an M.Ed. in Secondary Education History from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Devin Hasty

American Sign Language Teacher

Ms. Hasty comes to Rye from Castle View High School in Castle Rock, CO, where she has been an American Sign Language (ASL) level I-IV teacher. She previously taught ASL at Thunder Ridge High School in Highlands Ranch, CO, and Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis, IN. Before becoming a teacher, she was a Behavioral Specialist at the Indiana School for the Deaf. Ms. Hasty has a B.A. in Human & Community Service from Lenoir-Rhyne University and an M.A. in American Sign Language Teaching from the University of Northern Colorado.

Beau Morimando

Special Education Teacher

Mr. Morimando comes to RMS from Brookline High School in Brookline, MA, where he worked as a Special Education Teacher for the past three years. Prior to that, he worked for three years as a special educator at the Prospect Hill Academy Charter School in Cambridge, MA. He has a B.A. in U.S. History with a minor in Education and an M.Ed. in Moderate Disabilities, both from Lesley University.

Shane O’Brien

Social Studies Teacher

Mr. O’Brien comes to Rye from the East Bronx Academy for the Future, where he taught 7th grade social studies and humanities and provided small group reading and writing academic intervention  services for the past three years.  Previously, he taught 11th Grade Economics, AP U.S. History, and Participation in Government classes at the Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy II. Mr. O’Brien has a B.A. in Adolescent Education in History and an M.S. in Adolescent Education in History, both from SUNY Plattsburgh.

Joseph Oriti

Special Education Teacher

Mr. Oriti comes to RMS from the Farragut Middle School in Hastings-on-Hudson where he worked as a Special Education Teacher of language arts and social studies in integrated, co-taught classrooms.  Previously, he was a Special Education Teacher at both Somers Middle School and Somers High School. Mr. Oriti has a B.A. in History from SUNY Buffalo and a Masters in Education from Lehman College.

Lisa Rifas

Special Education Teacher

Ms. Rifas comes to Rye from Eastchester Middle School, where she was a permanent building substitute teacher for grades K-8. Previously, she worked as a Special Education Teacher at Bell Middle School in Chappaqua and at F.E. Bellows Elementary School in Rye Neck. Ms. Rifas has a B.S. in Art Education for Agencies Social and Cultural from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.S. in Special Education from Hofstra University.