Two teachers from the Cheektowaga Central School District were named New York State Master Teachers by the State University of New York.  

Named to the 2019 cohort of Master Teachers are Rachael Burke, a Math AIS specialist at Union East Elementary School and David Guzzino, an eighth-grade math teacher at Cheektowaga Middle School.

They join Middle School teacher Stanley Skotnick and Union East teachers Deana Gnorek, Jennifer Lewis and Donna Lillis on the list of Master Teachers from Cheektowaga Central.

The master teacher program is a state-wide professional network of outstanding STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) teachers. As part of the Western New York network, the new master teachers will work with other master teachers from local school districts and future teachers studying at Buffalo State College to develop and share STEM content knowledge. Master Teachers are the highest-performing STEM teachers who join together as an expert community dedicated to developing one another's expertise in the areas of content, pedagogy, and students’ families and communities.

Chosen through an intensive selection process, the program requires a four-year commitment in addition to their classroom teaching responsibilities. Through cohort meetings, various workshops and summer programs, the master teachers collaborate to bring content and instructional best practices back to their CCSD classrooms, to mentor education majors at Buffalo State and to inspire Cheektowaga CSD students to consider teaching as a career choice.