The PBIS Leadership Team is proud to announce our Mustang of the Month award recipients for the month of November. Congratulations to Courtney Dziuban, Jessica Klem and Meghan Murphy-Pagano!
Our first Mustang of the Month is Courtney Dziuban, a teacher at Mount Markham Elementary School.
Courtney is a Mount Markham graduate from West Winfield. She attended college at SUNY Cortland for her Bachelor’s Degree and Touro College for her Master’s Degree, and she worked as a special education teacher at UCP and Herkimer BOCES before returning to Mount Markham.
“I love the small-town vibe. Every walk down the hall comes with smiles and hugs and there is no way not to have a good day!” she said.
Courtney has five children who all attend Mount Markham and spends much of her free time driving them around to activities on the “Zoobee Bus.” She also enjoys running and reading.
Our next Mustang of the Month is Jessica Klem, a teacher at Mount Markham Middle School.
Jessica is a graduate of Richfield Springs, and she attended Nazareth University for both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She joined the Mount Markham family last year as a 5th grade ELA teacher.
She said she values earning her students’ respect and trust to create a strong learning environment in her classroom, and she is committed to teaching and connecting with all students.
“The students are my reason why for teaching. Seeing them smile and enjoy learning is the most rewarding thing I could ever ask for,” she said.
Jessica is also the Girls JV Basketball Coach and Assistant Softball Coach at Richfield Springs, and she works at the Adirondack Experience Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. In her free time, she likes to spend time with family and friends, hike in the Adirondacks and spend time at the lake.
Our final Mustang of the Month is Meghan Murphy-Pagano, a teacher at Mount Markham High School.
Meghan is a graduate of The College of Saint Rose in Albany and Goddard College in Vermont. She taught art for three years at Herkimer BOCES before joining Mount Markham, first at the Middle School and now at the High School. She said she has enjoyed working in such a friendly and welcoming community.
“I am lucky to have such supportive and kind colleagues who genuinely care about students and continuously go above and beyond,” she said. “It has also been a pleasure to work with so many talented and creative students over the years.”
Meghan enjoys spending time with friends and family, gardening and working on creative projects.
To nominate one of our outstanding employees for a future Mustang of the Month award, please submit their name here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdV_n4GjyuGjdiQq3oPmToGTALwt71n44Aq4Z8tJA8-K0VAwA/viewform