The PBIS Leadership Team is proud to announce our Mustang of the Month award recipients for the month of February. Congratulations to Katelyn Yuhasz, Katie Lindsey and Dave Kirkpatrick!
Our first Mustang of the Month is Katelyn Yuhasz, a teacher at Mount Markham Elementary School.
Katelyn Yuhasz is a local to the area, originally hailing from Richfield Springs. Yuhasz attended Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta, receiving a degree in psychology and an NYS teacher certification. After spending some time as a stay-at-home mom and then working part-time in a preschool, Katelyn Yuhasz returned to working as a teacher.
Yuhasz’s favorite part about working at Mount Markham Elementary is the supportive and helpful staff.
A core piece of Katelyn Yuhasz’s teaching philosophy is treating her students with patience and respect.
“I think that patience and kindness are integral to being a successful teacher,” Yuhasz said. “Every day it is my goal to allow each student to come in with a clean slate to a classroom that they will want to be a part of because they are respected and heard.”
When she is not at work, Katelyn Yuhasz enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, usually doing outdoor activities or attending her children’s sporting events.
Our next Mustang of the Month is Katie Lindsey, an agriculture teacher at Mount Markham Middle School.
After she graduated from Cornell University with a certification to teach biology and agriculture and spent some time working in the Mohonasen Central School District, Katie Lindsey moved to the local area with her husband and began working at the Morris Central School District. In 2017, Lindsey began her role as Mount Markham Middle School’s agriculture teacher and Junior FFA advisor.
At Mount Markham Middle School, Katie Lindsey enjoys teaching students about agriculture and introducing them to opportunities within FFA.
Lindsey deeply values dedication, honesty and respect, and she tries to instill those characteristics in her students. Many of Lindsey’s students have noted the ways in which she exhibits those traits.
“She is a great person and always has a great attitude, she is always ready to do anything if needed,” a student said.
Outside of work, Katie Lindsey enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, generally doing agricultural activities such as beekeeping, fishing, hunting, gardening, farming and more. Lindsey also enjoys spending time with extended family and teaching her children how to grow, harvest and process food.
Our final Mustang of the Month is Officer Dave Kirkpatrick, an SPO based out of Mount Markham High School.
Originally from Herkimer, NY, Dave Kirkpatrick graduated from SUNY Brockport and worked at and retired from the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, before coming to Mount Markham CSD.
Kirkpatrick’s favorite aspect of being part of the Mount Markham CSD community is the variety of good people that he interacts with daily.
Dave Kirkpatrick values the traits of honesty and humor.
“I always try and be as honest as I can be,” Kirkpatrick said. “Also, humor can help make people comfortable in stressful situations.”
When Dave Kirkpatrick is not at work, he enjoys coaching and playing golf.