Kelly Fitzpatrick, Principal
It is my great privilege to serve as AmPark Neighborhood School’s Principal this school year. This school has had my heart for the past seven years as I have grown alongside our students beginning as a special education teacher, moving out of the classroom into a Reading Recovery role, and then becoming the Assistant Principal for the past three years. Prior to working at AmPark, I was a 4th and 5th grade Teaching Assistant in Rockland County and an early childhood special education teacher in District 10. My credentials include an undergraduate degree from SUNY Purchase in Communications, a master’s degree in Early Childhood/Childhood and Students with Disabilities from Mercy College, and a School Building Leadership degree from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Inclusive education, in every sense of the word, has remained my passion throughout my career. In this new role, I plan to continue working to ensure that all members of our community feel respected, valued, and cared for during their time at AmPark. A strong social and emotional core is vital to the individual success of each student and our collective success as a school. I am committed to ensuring that all community members have opportunities to cultivate their own emotional intelligence.
In alignment with my beliefs around social and emotional learning are my beliefs around developing the strengths and interests of children through a wide range of mediums. AmPark’s foundation of experiential instruction and a commitment to wellness and the arts is something I hope to continue to build upon in the coming years.
My favorite ways to work toward Habit 7 and “sharpen the saw” are to travel or work on a house project. Additionally, I am a big fan of historical fiction, the autumn, and all creatures great and small. I look forward to continuing to build relationships within the AmPark community and to helping all children develop a strong sense of self, deep empathy for others, and an inextinguishable joy for learning.
Inclusive education, in every sense of the word, has remained my passion throughout my career. In this new role, I plan to continue working to ensure that all members of our community feel respected, valued, and cared for during their time at AmPark. A strong social and emotional core is vital to the individual success of each student and our collective success as a school. I am committed to ensuring that all community members have opportunities to cultivate their own emotional intelligence.
In alignment with my beliefs around social and emotional learning are my beliefs around developing the strengths and interests of children through a wide range of mediums. AmPark’s foundation of experiential instruction and a commitment to wellness and the arts is something I hope to continue to build upon in the coming years.
My favorite ways to work toward Habit 7 and “sharpen the saw” are to travel or work on a house project. Additionally, I am a big fan of historical fiction, the autumn, and all creatures great and small. I look forward to continuing to build relationships within the AmPark community and to helping all children develop a strong sense of self, deep empathy for others, and an inextinguishable joy for learning.
Bonnie Durgin, Assistant Principal
I am overjoyed to be joining AmPark Neighborhood School as the new Assistant Principal this year. One of the first things that I learned about AmPark is that it is a home away from home for staff, students, and families. I am grateful and humbled to be welcomed into such a warm and vibrant community.
I come to you with thirteen years of experience as a teacher and school leader in both the Bronx and Brooklyn. In 2004, I began teaching in the south Bronx as a Teach for America Corps member. I fell in love with teaching and creating classroom communities that allowed students to feel seen and safe to take the social and academic risks from which they would grow and deeply engage in their own learning. As a classroom teacher in Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, and a Pre-K through 6th Grade music cluster, I worked to keep the key elements of inquiry, dialogue, and getting hands dirty at the center of my teaching.
In 2010, I was given the opportunity to help build a new school, as a second year founding teacher for a city-wide gifted and talented school, The Brooklyn School of Inquiry. As a 1st and 2nd Grade teacher, I collaborated with brilliant teachers and administrators alongside a dedicated parent body to found a school based upon progressive principles and a whole-child approach to education.
This wonderful challenge inspired me to go to Bank Street College of Education to pursue school leadership. It was my internship work at Bank Street that would lead me to M.S. 88 in Brooklyn, where I have had the pleasure to serve as an Assistant Principal and conflict resolution specialist, leading a community of over 1,400 spirited middle schoolers. My work at M.S. 88 has centered around collaborating with staff on media literacy, technology and art integration, and social emotional learning initiatives.
Over the past year, life has pulled my family… my husband Scott, adorable 13 year old pit bull mix Miga, and myself, closer to where my husband and I both grew up in Danbury, CT. While I’m sad to say goodbye to my wonderful teachers, students and families in Brooklyn, I am delighted to return to the Bronx and, most amazingly, come to AmPark Neighborhood School. Joining AmPark and getting to work alongside Kelly Fitzpatrick and all of you, I feel as if I am being given a great gift. I cannot express how much I look forward to getting to know you, collaborating with you, and supporting you and your amazing students.
I come to you with thirteen years of experience as a teacher and school leader in both the Bronx and Brooklyn. In 2004, I began teaching in the south Bronx as a Teach for America Corps member. I fell in love with teaching and creating classroom communities that allowed students to feel seen and safe to take the social and academic risks from which they would grow and deeply engage in their own learning. As a classroom teacher in Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, and a Pre-K through 6th Grade music cluster, I worked to keep the key elements of inquiry, dialogue, and getting hands dirty at the center of my teaching.
In 2010, I was given the opportunity to help build a new school, as a second year founding teacher for a city-wide gifted and talented school, The Brooklyn School of Inquiry. As a 1st and 2nd Grade teacher, I collaborated with brilliant teachers and administrators alongside a dedicated parent body to found a school based upon progressive principles and a whole-child approach to education.
This wonderful challenge inspired me to go to Bank Street College of Education to pursue school leadership. It was my internship work at Bank Street that would lead me to M.S. 88 in Brooklyn, where I have had the pleasure to serve as an Assistant Principal and conflict resolution specialist, leading a community of over 1,400 spirited middle schoolers. My work at M.S. 88 has centered around collaborating with staff on media literacy, technology and art integration, and social emotional learning initiatives.
Over the past year, life has pulled my family… my husband Scott, adorable 13 year old pit bull mix Miga, and myself, closer to where my husband and I both grew up in Danbury, CT. While I’m sad to say goodbye to my wonderful teachers, students and families in Brooklyn, I am delighted to return to the Bronx and, most amazingly, come to AmPark Neighborhood School. Joining AmPark and getting to work alongside Kelly Fitzpatrick and all of you, I feel as if I am being given a great gift. I cannot express how much I look forward to getting to know you, collaborating with you, and supporting you and your amazing students.