Faculty & Staff

Maureen Daurio became Principal of St. Mary's Academy in August of 2010 and truly believes this is where she was meant to be.  Prior to that, she taught Middle School Social Studies and Religion at St. Casimir in Albany for 9 years and Blessed Sacrament in Albany for 1 year.  Maureen also served as Drama Club Director and Girls' Basketball Coach during her teaching years.  Maureen received her degree in Administration from the College of Saint Rose.  

Maureen was born and raised in Troy where she attended St. Augustine's and Catholic Central High School.  She currently resides there with her two children Shelby and Dakota.

Patricia (Kennedy) Hayes is an SMA Class of 1969 graduate and loves her job at St. Mary's Academy. Prior to her employment at SMA, Pat was an LPN at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center for years, then was the Social Services Director at Weston Hadden Convalescent Center (now Centers for Living and Rehabilitation) until she was hired to be the Parish Health Nurse for Immaculate Conception Church.  After that position was eliminated, Pat was offered the position at SMA and graciously accepted it! Pat thoroughly enjoys this position as well as teaching Health and Religion classes at this busy little school.  

Pat and her husband Tony have two children, Chris and Tim and five grandchildren, Patrick, Taylor, Molly Reilly and Sophie.

This is Bridget's second year coordinating Fundraising and Development efforts at SMA. Bridget and her husband Eric are active members of SMA and Hoosick Falls through their participation in various events and activities.  Bridget's creativity and welcoming persona are tremendous assets to this position.  Bridget and Eric have three sons who all attend SMA and love being part of this school.  Bridget welcomes any parents, alumni and friends to join the SMA fundraising team.

Lori has made SMA her home since 1997. She began as a teaching aide and substitute teacher and through the years she has taken on the responsibilities as both the school librarian and art teacher.  For the past several years, Loris is enjoying her love of teaching and enriching the lives of Pre-School aged children.  

Lori has two grown children, both of whom graduated from SMA. In addition to preparing fun and innovative projects for her students, Lori enjoys reading, journaling and crocheting. 

Miss Alicia Sawyer joins Lori in the classroom as a teacher aide.

Joan Nolan has been associated with SMA for many years.  She began as a student (class of 1969) and presently as a member of the faculty.  She has spent her career working with 4-5 year olds and still marvels at the way they learn.  

Joan has a BS degree in Early Childhood Education, a Master's Degree in Reading and is a NYS Certified teacher.  

In her spare time, Joan enjoys romping with her Chocolate Lab Tucker, kayaking and vacationing on the beautiful islands in Maine.

This Jenn's second year teaching at SMA.  She is a graduate of SAGE Graduate School with a dual Masters in Special Education and Literacy.  She also holds a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education from SUNY Cortland and is a NYS Certified teacher in all three areas. 

Before becoming a teacher at SMA, Jenn worked in Special Education for the North Colonie School District for three years.  

When you enter Jenns' classroom you will see students actively engaged in hands on projects and a sense of teamwork and acceptance.  Her students are held to a high standard which is reflected both in and out of the classroom.

In her spare time, Jenn enjoys horseback riding, playing with her Basset Hound Cooper, and spending time with her family.

Andrea Stevens is a NYS Certified Pre-K through 6th grade teacher who is currently co-teaching Kindergarten and 1st grade at SMA.  She has a dual certification in Early Childhood Education and Curriculum and Instruction. Andrea attended the College of Saint Rose for her Early Childhood Education degree and then on to SUNY Plattsburgh for her Master's degree.  Andrea has been teaching for five years and has taught at a variety of grade levels; including Kindergarten and fourth grades.  She truly enjoys working with children.  

Andrea loves working at SMA and enjoys seeing how closely parents and teachers work together.  

Andrea has a 3 year old son who keeps her moving. She and her family reside in Valley Falls, NY.

Amanda Patten is currently in her fifth year of teaching at SMA. Raised in Hoosick Falls, she is a 2002 graduate of Hoosick Falls Central School. She received her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from SUNY Plattsburgh.  In addition to her teaching duties, she is also the middle school Odyssey of the Mind Coach.  

Amanda currently lives in Hoosick Falls and enjoys reading and routing on her favorite sports teams.  She is a big fan of Dr. Suess, which is evident when you step into her classroom.  

In 2010, Amanda, along with her parents, were awarded a St. Mary's Academy distinguished alumni award which she was extremely excited about.  Now, she can say that chi is a proud alum of SMA.

Nadia Christy joins our team at St. Mary's with 20+ years of teaching experience. She has taught in both public and private schools in New York, Vermont, California and Oregon and is certified to teach Pre-K through 6th grade.  

Originally from Schaghticoke, she currently resides in Easton with her husband John, and their sons, Justin (a first year philosophy grad students at Notre Dame) and Andrew (a psychology major in his junior year at SUNY Geneseo).  

Nadia enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with her family and friends.  She feels blessed to be a part of the SMA family and is excited to be working with the third graders this year.  

Tyler Herrington grew up just down the road in Cambridge.  He attended SMA for Pre-k and Kindergarten before going to Cambridge Central. Tyler is a recent graduate of the College of St. Joseph in Vermont.  He is certified to teach elementary in both VT and NY.  He is also working on his Masters in Literacy at the College of St. Joseph.  Tyler feels blessed to be a part of such a wonderful school, and is excited to teach 4^th grade!

David Bromirski-Grade 5 Homeroom/Grades 5-8 ELA, Phys. Ed dbromirski@stmaryshf.com

David has been a part of life at St. Mary's for quite some time.  He attended SMA from 1st grade until her graduated in 1977.  He graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh with a Bachelor's degree in both History and Psychology and did his graduate work at SUNY Albany after which he returned to SMA to teach in the High School before it closed. After teaching at Bishop Maginn High School, David returned to SMA some 17 years ago.  He is also the athletic director at St. Mary's. David and his wife Bridget (Hayden) have three children who all attended SMA. David says " It is great to get up every morning and want to come to school.  It is a blessing to be able to teach in such a great little school!"

Reena Jones and her family became a part of the SMA community when her daughter attended the Pre-K program in 2005. She became a member of the faculty the following year.  

Reena has a background in Early Childhood Education and Psychology.  

Reena and her husband Dave feel truly blessed to have found such a great place for their children to receive their education. Reena enjoys coming to work every day.

Margaret teaches Math too the SMA students in grades 5 through 8.  She came to SMA 10 years ago after a tour in the US Navy as a Math and Chemistry Instructor and then a stay at home mom raising three children.  

A 1983 graduate, Margaret remains active in Alumni and Development activities in addition to her teaching responsibilities.  On any given day, you may find her classroom full of students after school getting extra help and hoping for a "lollipop day". 

Donna is a graduate of SMA and is celebrating over 30 years of teaching at her alma mater.  Her college experience was at SUNY Cortland where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Eduction.  In addition to her focus on middle school Science, Donna coaches 7th and 8th grade girl's basketball and softball.  

Donna's success as a teacher is her ability to build an admirable rapport with her students and her consistent pursuit of new and interesting challenges in Science.  When visiting Donna's classroom you will find students engaged in hands-on activities, experiments and group projects. Her students continuously excel in the NYS Intermediate Level Science exams and Earth Science Regents tests.  100% of students who graduated from SMA have passed the NYS Intermediate Level Science exam.  Over the past 10 years, 100% of SMA 8th grade students who have taken the Earth Science Regents exam (typically taught in 10th grade) have passed. As these students head into high school they are well prepared, accelerated and have great attitudes about the world of Science.  

Donna is well known for her traditions including the school-wide learning fair and her 8th grade Halloween group costume.

Lesley is a graduate of LeMoyne College with a Bachelor's in History and Secondary Education and a minor in Philosophy.  Her post graduate work includes Certification in Paralegal Studies from the Paralegal Institute, New York, NY, graduate credits in Library Science from Queens College, CUNY Queens, NY and an award in Accounting from UCLA.  Prior to her 20+ years at SMA as a 1st grade teacher, 5th grade and middle school teacher, Lesley taught 11th grade American History in Marcellus, NY, as well as having completed work in the Paralegal field.  Lesley is a published author with her book, Transition: Secretary to Paralegal, which is published by the Institute for Business Planning (division of Prentiss Hall).  

Lesley and her husband and son moved to Buskirk, NY in 1986.  They both love history and purchased the 1790 home of Martin Van Buskirk, Revolutionary War veteran. They've been working on it ever since.  They also began a grass-roots organization in 1994 that ultimately resulted in the restoration of the Buskirk Covered Bridge.

Phyllis Chapman is a veteran art teacher of more than 30 years experience.  She received her Bachelor's degree from the College of Saint Rose, and Master's degree from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Skidmore College.  She taught secondary art at Hoosick Falls Central School for 21 years before moving into museum education at the Bennington Museum.  Recently, Phyllis has been the Curator of Fine Arts at Siena College in Loudonville, NY and also Program Coordinator at the Barnett Homestead Visitors' Center at the Bennington Battlefield, which closed in 2010.  

Phyllis lives in Hoosick Falls with her husband Mike and has two grown daughters who are per suing careers in fashion and theater.  

Judy has been teaching Spanish students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade at SMA for over ten years.  The Spanish program at SMA has proven to be insightful as our graduates have entered into 10th grade Spanish at their respective school districts in their 9th year with complete success.  

Judy attended Russell Sage in Troy for dual Early Childhood Education and Spanish degrees; Maria College for Early Childhood, and Adirondack Community College for Business Administration.  

Judy is a proud mother of two daughter and a proud grandmother.  She has lived in Cambridge, NY  for over 40 years.

Kim Phillips has been the nurse at SMA for eight years.  After receiving her ADN, Kim worked at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, RI. Prior to joining St. Mary's she also worked as a pediatric home care nurse.  

Kim lives in Hoosick Falls with her husband Bill and their sons, Evan and Drew.