The Rye Neck Union Free School District Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Barbara Ferraro are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Dulce Barker as the new Rye Neck Middle School principal.

“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Dulce Barker to the Rye Neck School District,” Dr. Ferraro said. “The community will benefit from her extensive experience as a teacher and administrator. Dr. Barker brings a passion for learning and teaching to the position of Rye Neck middle school principal.”

Dr. Barker most recently served as assistant principal of Anne M. Dorner Middle School in the Ossining Union Free School District. During her tenure, she has been responsible for supervising staff and providing professional development for teachers and teaching assistants. She also served on the district’s equity, social-emotional learning and special education committees. Prior to that, she worked as a science teacher and science department coordinator at Rye Middle School.

Dr. Barker began her educational career as a science teacher, having served at the Adrien Block Intermediate School 25, Windward School and the Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers. In addition, she worked as an adjunct professor at Manhattanville College. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in anthropology from Florida Atlantic University, as well as a certificate of advanced study and a doctorate in educational leadership from Manhattanville College.

Community members are invited to meet with Dr. Barker on June 21 at 6 p.m. in the middle/high school dining hall.

Appointed on a three-year probationary term during the Board of Education meeting on June 16, Dr. Barker will step into her role on July 1.

Rye Neck Middle School was designated as a Gold Star School by the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate Program for the ninth consecutive year. This year, the students’ first activity was to create a banner to sign the No Place for Hate Pledge.

“We created our school charter, talked about diversity and the importance of representation and the power of our words,” school counselor Meegan Lawlor said. “We also learned about the Pyramids of Hate and Allyship.”

Rye Neck Middle School has been designated as a Gold Star No Place for Hate School by the Anti-Defamation League for the ninth consecutive year. The students earned the recognition by signing a Resolution of Respect and participating in schoolwide activities about inclusion, the power of words and standing up for others.

“We are proud of this honor and look forward to working with the ADL again next year,” school counselor Meegan Lawlor said.

Rye Neck students showed off their creativity and commitment to their community by participating in the Village of Mamaroneck Coyote Task Force’s “Coyote Safety” poster contest. Forty-eight students submitted their posters, which incorporated images and informative text.

“We saw a wide breadth of style, color and approach,” said Rye Neck Middle School Principal Dr. Eric Lutinski, who organized the contest in collaboration with F.E. Bellows Elementary School Principal Michael Scarantino, the PTSA and the Village of Mamaroneck. “Some students used modern graphic techniques, some used hand drawings, and there was variation in the balance between text and imagery.”

The contest, which was open to K-12 students, was designed to increase student awareness and involvement, address the presence of coyotes in the area and promote safe practices. The students’ posters were judged for clarity of message and artistic effort by Dr. Lutinski and art teachers across the district. The winning posters are on display in each school’s hallways and are projected on video monitors. In addition, the PTSA provided prizes for each first-place winner and runner-up.

Congratulations to the following contest winners:

Daniel Warren Elementary School
• First place – J.R. Diskin, a second grader.
• Second place – Takuto Yoshida, a second grader.
• Third place – Abel Yameogo, a first grader.

F.E. Bellows Elementary School
• First place – Immanuel Tan, a fifth grader.
• Second place – Adriana Pejcic, a fifth grader.
• Third place – Sloane Diskin, a fourth grader.

Rye Neck Middle School
• First place – Airi Ino, a sixth grader.
• Second place – Taylor Vroom, a seventh grader.
• Third place – Kaho Matsumoto, an eighth grader.

Rye Neck High School
• First place – Sofie Thonhauser, a senior.
• Second place – Hikaru Noda, a junior.
• Third place – Monica Kosakowski, a freshman.