New Rye High School Staff for 2024-25

On Monday, the Rye City School District announced 24 new staff members across the district.

Introduce yourself to the six new Rye High School staff.

Rye High School

Administrators

Mark Bayer, Interim Assistant Principal

(Mr. Bayer’s first day at RHS was July 17) Mr. Bayer comes to Rye High School after serving as Principal of Somers High School for the past 12 years. He retired from Somers in June. Before serving as Principal in Somers, he spent five years as a math teacher and then eight years as an Assistant Principal at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, NY.  As Principal of Somers High School, Mr. Bayer led the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Programme. At Horace Greeley High School, he was one of the founding teachers of the LIFE School, a project-based, rigorous alternative program grounded in community.

Mr. Bayer began his career in education teaching math at Arlington High School in LaGrangeville, NY, for eight years. Mr. Bayer has a B.S. in Mathematics from Manhattan College, an M.S.E.D. in Secondary Mathematics from SUNY New Paltz, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration, also from SUNY New Paltz.

Andrew Hara, Principal

Mr. Hara comes to Rye High School from the Yonkers Public Schools, where he has been a high school principal since 2022. Before becoming principal, he spent four years as Assistant Principal of Operations for a grade 6-12 combined middle and high school in Bronx, NY.  Before becoming an assistant principal, he was a social studies teacher, named a Big Apple Teacher of the Year finalist in 2015. He has coached both boys and girls varsity basketball and has been a chess team supervisor.  He began his career in education as a social studies and literature teacher at the MC School in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Mr. Hara has a B.A. in Sociology and Peace and Justice Studies and an M.A.T. in Political Science/Political Philosophy, both from Tufts University. Mr. Hara is fluent in written and spoken Spanish.

Teachers

Susan Allegretti, Special Education

Ms. Allegretti is already a familiar face at Rye High School having worked as a special education teacher assistant for the past two years. Before working at RHS, she worked in the RCSD as an elementary school special education teacher assistant for eight years and an elementary school one-to-one teacher aide for four years. Prior to working for the school district, she was the assistant to the Environmental Educator at Rye Nature Center and a substitute teacher at Webster Avenue Nursery School in Harrison, NY. Ms. Allegretti has a B.S. in Marketing from Fashion Institute of Technology. She is currently completing her M.S. in Teaching Special Education from Long Island University.

Andrew Laudel, English

Mr. Laudel comes to Rye High School from the Uncommon Leadership Charter High School in Brooklyn, NY, where he was an English teacher and District-wide planner for AP Literature for four years. Previously, he was a 7th grade English teacher at Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT, and a 10th and 11th grade summer session English Instructor at the Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Since 2022, he has worked as an AP Reader for the College Board for AP Literature and Composition exams. He began his teaching career as a 7th and 8th grade English teacher at the Success Academy Harlem West Middle School. He has a B.A. in English and a B.F.A. in Musical Theater from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in English and Education from Hunter College.

Michael Okulsky, Special Education

Mr. Okulsky comes to Rye High School from The Hallen School in New Rochelle where he taught English, creative writing, and study skills to students in grades 9-12 for the past four years. Before working at Hallen, he was a 7th and 8th grade English Teacher at the ICAHN Charter School in Bronx, NY. He began his teaching career as an English literature teacher at St. Raymond’s High School for Boys, also in the Bronx. He has a B.A. in English and a Masters in Teaching: Adolescence Education from Iona University and an Advanced Certification, Students with Disabilities grades 7-12 from Lehman College.

Staff

Honor Fagan, Leave Replacement School Counselor

Ms. Fagan is already a familiar face at Rye High School having worked as a school counselor since March of 2024. Before working in Rye, she spent a year as a leave replacement school counselor at Pelham High School and two years as a school counselor at Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, NJ. She completed her school counseling internship at Suffern Middle School. Before becoming a school counselor, she was the Assistant to the Director at Prep School and College Search in Nyack, NY. She has a B.A. in English and Communication from Boston College and an M.A. in Applied Psychology from NYU.