When students return to Greeley this fall they will see a familiar face in a new role. Former English teacher and department chair Andrew Corsilia will greet students as interim assistant principal.
Corsilia, who has been in the district for 14 and a half years, assumed his new position formally on July 1. He will be working with the class of 2015 and half of the incoming freshman; helping with event planning and discipline issues. Corsilia’s other duties include supervising teachers and addressing concerns in the science, math, counseling, and art and life skills departments, serving as the Regents’ coordinator for the district, scheduling mid-term and final exams and overseeing clubs.
After completing his masters at Teacher’s College, Corsilia began his career at Greeley teaching “Ethics and Existence.” This particular course and the breadth of electives were key elements in his decision to come to the district. He had read “The Mysterious Stranger” by Mark Twain, one of the books covered in the class, in his junior year and remembered it “with great fondness.” Another factor which figured prominently in his decision to come to Greeley has been his colleagues. “I had such excellent models in teaching and scholarship within the English department,” he noted. His mentor, Andrew Selesnick, worked with him in the department before becoming school principal.
Although Corsilia was on the job for most of the summer learning about state regulations and getting to know the staff, he did manage to schedule time for a canoeing and fishing vacation in Maine with his three children. While his son was devouring books in the Wimpy Kid series, Corsilia focused on “Empire Falls” which takes place in Maine.
Emily Burack, a member of the class of 2013, cites Corsilia as being “the most influential teacher,” she has studied under at Greeley. After he noticed her passion for reading, they began meeting once a cycle to discuss literature and subsequently developed an independent study course. Burack predicts that Corsilia’s virtues as a teacher will render him an excellent assistant principal. “He’s very, very accessible,” she observed.
