Latin teacher Chris Amanna and English teacher Katherine Yan are now in charge of creating student schedules and managing transcripts, following the retirement of English teacher Raquel Chung, who previously oversaw the Townsend Harris programming office.
Alongside the guidance office, Mr. Amanna and Ms. Yan worked this fall to update and finalize programs to satisfy students’ desired choices for the 2023-2024 school year. With the new schedules now finalized, Mr. Amanna and Ms. Yan discussed their duties within their new roles.
Mr. Amanna, who is now the programming chair, said, “it’s a big responsibility, making sure all classes are in order and everybody is in the right place.” He previously served as assistant programming chair. It’s a similar responsibility, he said, but with more workload.
Since Mr. Amanna was the programming assistant last year, there needs to be a new assistant chair now to work alongside him. Assuming this role is Ms. Yan
“I’ve been at Townsend Harris for over 13 years, and I wanted to serve in another capacity and look at the school from a different avenue,” Ms. Yan said. “[Mr. Amanna] has been to all the training and workshops in the shadow of the previous programming chair. He is the go-to person and shows me how to make changes or carry out a task and then I can do it on my own”.
Members of the Guidance Office, which also works on the creation of programs, commented on their role in relation to the programming chairs. Guidance Counselor Jessica Graf said, “The Guidance Department helps students to submit their requests for programs, [and] we work closely with them to advise them based on their interests.”
Ana Patete, another counselor, said “[Programming is] a difficult job, a big position, and really important. [I am] grateful for what Mr. Amanna has done, considering he’s also a Latin teacher, and am honored to work with someone like him.”
“It seems more seamless with the programming,” said school social worker Alison Harris-Chauvet. “There were fewer students complaining about programming changes this year.”
“We’re always trying to improve what we do,” said Mr. Amanna. He said he hopes “to receive the student’s requests and information earlier this year to start planning for the next school year.”
