Oakdale has welcomed many new teachers this year, one of which is Brandon Nasuti, a special education teacher and a lacrosse coach. On top of this, he works inside classrooms as a co-teacher. Nasuti has been in the classroom for 4 years as a co-teacher and has taught 9th-11th grades.
Nasuti spent the majority of his college career at Frostburg State University (FSU) where he got his undergraduate in Recreation & Park Management, and minored in coaching. He later got his masters at Shippensburg University in secondary education for social studies.
“At Frostburg, I knew I enjoyed being active, working with kids, and being around people. I knew I didn’t want some 9-5 office job so I found a major where I had the opportunity to organize events and interact with a lot of people in a fun setting,” Nasuti shares.
While at FSU Nasuti minored in coaching. This inevitably had put him on the track to a teaching career. Right out of college, Natsuti worked as a manager at Sky Zone. Once he was ready to leave, he got a job at Thomas Johnson (TJ) High School, which kicked off his career in education. While there, he worked as a special education instructional assistant.
At TJ he was introduced to a lot of Oakdale’s current staff. He was introduced to the majority of Oakdale’s administrative staff; Bill Caulfield, Daniel Grimm, and Cindy Johnson, and knew they had a positive outlook towards education and would support him as a teacher. These connections led to his decision to come to Oakdale and made it an easy one.
“I would say that Oakdale is a very welcoming environment. I think Oakdale has great school pride, a hunger for excellence in the classroom and in athletics. Teachers are kind to each other and extremely helpful. I believe this is a place that fosters growth amongst students and educators.” Nasuti adds.
Nasuti works in higher need classes and because of his masters in social studies, he typically works in classes in that field. Last semester, Nasuti co-taught alongside Gretchen Heine in her Modern World History class.
As co-teacher, Nasuti helps deliver instructions and supports students in small groups or teaching the whole group. Nasuti works closely with students to support their learning. In the classroom, he wants all students to succeed the best they can, so he works to build relationships with students and support them.
“Students respond really well to Mr. Nasuti. They see him as a safe person they can talk to and confide in,” Heine mentions. “He’s really helpful at providing those supports and accommodations for students.”
Nasuti wants to bring joy and passion to the classroom and he reflects that in his teaching. He works hard to bring the success of his class and Oakdale as a whole. He wants the best for this school and is a welcome addition to Oakdale’s staff.
