Stories From Our Staff: What it's like to work here

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About Holyoke Public Schools

HPS employees find open doors as they explore growth opportunities

Holyoke Public Schools welcomes, supports, and offers career paths for staff who bring a wide array of backgrounds and experiences.

New hires and seasoned staff alike are offered opportunities to evolve in ways that uniquely support their goals, ambitions, and talents. There's no one way to succeed here. We work with individuals to find their best fit in the district throughout the stages of their career.

Read below to discover how some of our staff members found their calling at HPS. And check back soon, as we will continue to share our staff's stories.

Justin Smart

Justin Smart, in-school support coordinator at HHS North

When Justin Smart walks down the hall between classes at HHS North, he greets every student he sees, offering high fives, hellos, and words of encouragement. This might be expected for someone in Mr. Smart’s role as in-school support coordinator and Restorative Learning Center coordinator—but this high-energy, students-first approach actually started in 2014, when Mr. Smart joined HPS as a custodian.

Mr. Smart, who moved to Holyoke from Springfield in 2005, worked across multiple HPS campuses in his time as a custodian. His personable nature and patient listening made him a favorite with students, and led to him piloting a program at E.N. White School to engage students who were having difficulty focusing in class.

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Zoe Moynihan

Zoë Moynihan, third grade teacher at McMahon School

Zoë Moynihan graduated from Holyoke High School North thinking she wanted to be a police officer—but that didn’t turn out to be her path. Her real passion lies in working with children, and she is now a grade 3 math teacher at McMahon School set to graduate in May from Mt. Holyoke College with a Masters of Arts in teaching.

Ms. Moynihan, who was born and raised in Holyoke, describes herself as a “true Holyoker” who has always wanted to help the community where she grew up. After graduating HHS North in 2015, she initially enrolled in college intending to become a police officer. By the time she graduated from Westfield State May 2022 with her Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, policing no longer felt like the right fit. Rather than entering the police academy, Ms. Moynihan decided to pursue a career that helped youth in Holyoke. 

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Natasha Colon Ortíz

Natasha Colon-Ortíz, tutor at Opportunity Academy

If you drop into Holyoke High School’s Opportunity Academy at the right time, you might catch a lesson on oil pastels, perspective drawing, or creating a Post-it Note® masterpiece. 

Art lessons typically begin with warm-up exercises utilizing journals, which students keep throughout the school year to track their progress as they learn and develop new skills. Students explore new techniques with instructor Natasha Colón Ortiz, adding warm-up entries to their journals. The Paper City Art Kids founder encourages her students to  express their own creativity and interests in both their sketches and finished pieces. 

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Militza Semidai

Militza Semidei, expert teacher at E.N. White School

Did you know that students in dual-language immersion programs—including those who are native Spanish speakers—outperform their monolingual peers on standardized tests beginning in middle school? (Thomas and Collier, “Why Dual Language Schooling”).

Holyoke Public Schools has many teachers, staff, students, and families to thank for Holyoke’s successful and popular dual language (Spanish/English) program, including Militza Semidei. Mrs. Semidei is a 24-year Holyoke Public Schools veteran who is one of the founding members of the district’s dual language program and currently serves as an English and Spanish literacy coach at E.N. White School.  

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