Administrative Team
PRINCIPAL
On behalf of our entire school community, we would like to welcome you to the 2023-2024 school year at P396K, The Sid Miller Academy!
The best way to become familiar with our school is to become involved in our activities and programs, both in and out of the school. The education process is a partnership between educators, parents, and the community.
We welcome your involvement and look forward to a productive school year filled with engaging instruction and promotion of student academic and social-emotional success, with an emphasis on literacy, and math computation.
Some programs to look forward to are our visual and performing arts programs and productions, social emotional learning - miracle morning SEL program, comfort dog program, SOARing eagles clubs, stations-based multi-skilled model, Sid's daily news broadcast, HMH curriculums, inclusion program, multicultural celebrations and our inclusive model throughout all Sid Miller Sites.
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Sid Miller students have a Safe environment, filled with many Opportunities, while engaging in Accelerated learning and Reaching the community.
Together, we can continue to keep our school a wonderful place where each child has a positive and successful learning experience.
At Sid Miller, we are always SOARing and Striving to Greater Heights because.... "At Sid Miller Academy, We Are . . Filled With Greatness!"
Dr. Keisha McCoy
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS
AP Chana Max
With a deep passion for teaching and learning, I embarked on a journey to pursue a degree in education. Along the way, I came to realization that acquiring information and learning new skills encompassed so much more than what we see. This inspired me to pursue my doctoral degree in educational psychology and continue learning and exploring the pathways students take when they acquire new knowledge and what teaching methodologies were most effective in paving the roads for diverse learners.
Ever since I joined The Sid Miller Academy, I felt the passion and drive of the staff members who felt that same eagerness to improve student learning. As a classroom teacher, followed by curriculum coordinator, I was afforded the opportunity to work with students on discovering their strengths and building upon them to make real-life connections. With our independently designed, SOARing Through the Thematic Learning Units curriculum, we get to synthesize best practices, research, data, and experience to develop systems and structures which allowed us to witness exceptional progress in student performance.
Now as Assistant Principal, I look forward to continue working collaboratively to implement our instructional focus and best practices, observing the improved assessment scores and student performance on a daily basis!! I look forward to continue supporting our students and staff, as we travel the road where every student is given the opportunity to SOAR to Greater Heights!
AP Tiali Kyte
It is indeed a privilege and honor to serve as one of the assistant principals at P396K, the Sid Miller Academy. This position may be new for me, but being a member of this school community is not. I started my educational journey at P396K in 2015, where I began teaching for the first time in a 6:1:1 classroom. The students have always been, and will forever be, my motivation. As an educator, I pushed my students to meet their greatest potential and ensured that they could do so by acquiring the necessary tools through various platforms such as Donors Choose. My teaching philosophy is grounded in the theory that each child learns by doing. Children should be exposed to, and given, opportunities to learn a skill for mastery to be obtained. This belief is deeply rooted in all that I do, for I come from a family of educators, including the late Dr. Walter Kyte, an education pioneer who made a great impact in the field.
At P396K, I had the pleasure of working under the leadership of Dr. Keisha McCoy in many capacities. I served as a teacher and then transitioned to a school-based coach. Throughout the years, I collaborated with various stakeholders in order to successfully manage the after-school program, in person and remotely, facilitate professional learning communities, provide professional development sessions, and train teaching assistants. The programs I am most proud of is "Sid Miller Authors", where students wrote and published their own books. As well as the "5th Grade Recognition Ceremony", which I advocated for and facilitated in 2018. The event celebrates our 5th grade students who were moving to the 6th grade. Finally, I served as Dr. McCoy’s Ally in 2021 for the Cahn Fellows Program, where we engaged in a problem of practice to support the growth of P396K. With all these past endeavors, I can only imagine how I will continue to grow and am so excited to see how our children will continue to SOAR.
AP Odessa Branche
It is truly a pleasure and honor to be a member of the administration team. I am extremely proud and excited to join the team and provide support to our students and family at the Main site and P396K@323. I am here to make every effort to ensure our students SOAR. I come to P396K with a wealth of experience and expertise in instruction and curriculum. I have 10 years of experience working in Special Education in NYC DOE community school and 8 years of experience working in a residential School for children with disabilities. My personal mission as an educator is to provide our students with the necessary tools to become critical thinkers and help them develop to their full potential. At its absolute best, I see P396K as a place where everyone’s expectations are high for themselves and for others, where the responsibility for meeting those expectations is shared, where everything that we do comes back to enabling quality teaching and learning so that every child can SOAR to Greater Heights!
AP Jovia Bowes-Duncan
I am a dedicated and experienced educator with a passion to foster a positive and inclusive learning environment, as I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to my position as Assistant Principal. Before joining the Sid Miller Academy family, I served as a teacher leader for 4 years, a new teacher mentor and a classroom teacher for 11 years both internationally and locally. I taught special education and general education classes to elementary, middle school and high school students. Throughout my career in education, I have been fortunate to witness the transformative power of learning. I firmly believe that education is the cornerstone of personal growth and societal progress. It is my passion to create an environment where students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. As Assistant Principal, my commitment to student success and creating opportunities for growth and achievement aligns perfectly with our school's mission, where students will continue to SOAR to Greater Heights. I firmly believe in the power of collaboration and open communication, and I am excited to work alongside Dr. McCoy, my colleagues, teachers, and support staff to develop and implement strategies that meet the unique needs of our students. I believe in the importance of building strong relationships, not only with our students, but also with their families and the wider community. Together, we can create a supportive network that nurtures the holistic development of our students, equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in an ever-changing world. Outside of my professional endeavors, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading books, and participating in community service activities, such as PSAL cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field events, where I served as a coach for 3 years. I believe in leading by example and actively engage in ongoing professional development to stay abreast of the latest research and best practices in education.
I am genuinely excited to embark on this journey with all of you, and I am confident that by working together, we will continue to make a positive difference in the lives of our students, where all of our students will continue to SOAR to Greater Heights!
I am honored to serve as the newest member of the Sid Miller Academy Admin team. With over 10+ years of experience in community and youth development and educational years of experience working in the New York City Department of Education, I bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the administrative team. During my tenure in the classroom, I taught in a District 75 school. While there I was able to help my students SOAR by implementing rigorous instruction, working on social emotional awareness and developing family and community partnerships to meet my student’s needs. My teaching philosophy is simple: every student deserves the opportunity to SOAR and every student can learn. Coming directly from the classroom and transitioning into an administrative role at the Sid Miller Academy provides me with a fresh lens that gives me the opportunity to support the Sid Miller Academy community of educators in their effort to help our students SOAR to greater heights. Under the guidance of Principal Dr. Keisha McCoy and the rest of the administrative team, I hope to assist in continuing to create a collaborative and supportive environment where teachers and support staff have the knowledge and tools to help our students succeed.