District Hires New Liaison
The East Hampton School District has hired a new liaison to the district’s Latino families. She is Teresita Winter, a Sag Harbor resident who has replaced Ana Nunez, who was the liaison for three years and resigned this summer with plans to go to law school. Ms. Winter and Ms. Nunez worked together for three days this summer to help make the transition a smooth one.
“I didn’t think it was possible to lose someone like Ana and seamlessly move ahead and actually expand the responsibilities of the position, and we’re able to do that,” Robert Tymann, East Hampton’s assistant superintendent, said in a recent interview.
Ms. Winter, 33, has a master’s degree in social work from Adelphi University and is also a licensed substance abuse and addiction counselor. She graduated from Pierson High School in 2000 and has two children, who are 2 and 3 years old. She previously was a social worker in the Riverhead and Southampton School Districts.
Many families here are already familiar with Ms. Winter. East Hampton tapped her last year for several Spanish-language workshops on substance abuse prevention in the middle and high schools.
“The goals will continue to be to make sure that the Spanish-speaking community has equal access to everything our education system provides,” Mr. Tymann said. He said Ms. Winter’s background “mirrors the experience of many of our students and parents.”
“I moved here when I was 9 years old from South America with parents who spoke very little English,” Ms. Winter said. “I know how it is to go through the school system and have parents not able to participate as much as they would have liked to because of the lack of language.”
East Hampton has about 300 students from kindergarten through 12th grade whose first language is Spanish. The name of the program in which they are enrolled was recently changed to English as a new language from English as a second language.
Ms. Winter’s typical school day will be 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with quite a few evening meetings for parents, which is similar to the schedule Ms. Nunez had for the last few years. Her work will cover student orientation, report cards, the Common Core, and the college application process, among other topics.
“The families that we are working with are so willing and want the help and the information,” Ms. Winter said. “That always makes your job a little easier. It’s so great to be able to connect with them. . . . I want them to know that I am a resource here. They can always come through those doors and ask for me.”