OTA - Olean Teachers' Association

06/09/2026

"The success of the assignment depended on my ability to navigate any staff and administrative misgivings, but more importantly, on the relationships I had built with my students—I felt I could trust them."

English Teacher Sally Ventura wrote a beautiful article reflecting on one of her assignments: Forbidden Places. This innovative assignment opened doors for students literally and figuratively!

Read it here:

A transformative lesson in taking up space.

05/30/2026

Please join us in congratulating Amanda Bess-Edwards and Katheryn Stuckey on their 20th year in the OCSD! Thank you for all you've done for our students!

05/19/2026

On Saturday, the Art Department hosted its annual District Art Show reception at the Olean Public Library. Over 200 students across the district are featured in this year's show. The Art Department would like to send a special thanks to Mr. Hughey, who played music during the reception. The show will be up through Thursday, May 28th.

Thank you to the Art Department for going above and beyond to celebrate our students!

05/12/2026

The OTA would like to recognize the following individuals for reaching the milestone of 35 years of service in the OCSD!

James Charles, 4th Grade
David Lasky, Math

05/11/2026

The OTA would like to recognize the following individuals for reaching the milestone of 25 years of service in the OCSD!

Erin Fidurko, Special Education
Emily Defazio, Speech
Shana Chudy, East View
Leah Allen, Counselor
Pamela Stephens, East View
Ann Sorokes, Reading
Raymond Valeri, Social Studies
Amy Bay, Special Education

05/10/2026

The OTA would like to recognize the following individuals for reaching the milestone of 20 years of service in the OCSD!

Christyne Gaylor, East View
Laura Hamed, 5th Grade
Christine Jakubczyk, Washington West
Jennifer Rodman, East View
Ryan Talbot, Social Studies
Marie Rakus, English
Ryan Nawrot, Health
Timothy Kolasinski, Physical Education
Leslie Morey-Nasuta, Physical Education
Kristine Ring, Physics
Matthew Perry, Social Studies

05/09/2026

The OTA would like to recognize Angie Marconi, Math, for reaching the milestone of 15 years of service in the OCSD!

05/08/2026

The OTA would like to recognize the following individuals for reaching the milestone of 10 years of service in the OCSD!

Leah Graves, Jobs
Cassandra Patten, Special Education
Karen Woodring, Special Education
Rhonda Callahan, Physical Education

05/07/2026

The OTA would like to recognize the following individuals for reaching the milestone of 5 years of service in the OCSD!

Katie Camp, Special Education
Kayla Forrest, East View
Rachel Auman, 4th Grade
Destiny Portlow, 5th Grade
Amanda Bess-Edwards, Reading
Anna-Elisabeth Charles, Science
Matthew Woleben, Science
Alexander Kruse, Social Studies
Pamela Foster, Washington West
Barbara Stabb, Washington West

03/25/2026

Here is an action item to help fix Tier 6! Our state legislators to tag are Joe Sempolinski and George Borello!

New York leaders warn Tier 6 is fueling a workforce crisis. Lawmakers and employers urge action in the state budget to fix pensions for 780,000 workers.