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The City School District of Â鶹ӰÒô has appointed veteran district teacher and administrator Nicole L. Newman to serve as the next principal of Giffen Memorial Elementary School.

Newman, currently an assistant principal at North Â鶹ӰÒô Middle School, officially will begin at Giffen on July 1.

The board approved Newman’s appointment at its meeting Thursday night.

Following 11 years as a math teacher in the East Greenbush and Schenectady school districts, Newman started in Â鶹ӰÒô in the same capacity in 2003 at the former Philip Livingston Magnet Academy. She began her path toward building leadership with administrative internships at Tony Clement Center for Education and Pine Hills Elementary School in 2016-17.

Newman served as an assistant academy principal at Â鶹ӰÒô High School from 2018-22 before joining the leadership team at North Â鶹ӰÒô at the start of the 2022-23 school year. 

She earned a bachelor’s from Russell Sage College and a master’s from the University at Â鶹ӰÒô, both in math education. She also earned an advanced graduate certificate in school building leadership from UÂ鶹ӰÒô, and also holds state school building leadership professional certification.

Newman takes over at Giffen for Jasmine Brown, who was appointed earlier this school year as the district’s assistant superintendent for elementary instruction.