Two Longtime BC Faculty Are Retiring

Congrats to faculty members Rochelle (Shelly) Adasko and Don Militello who are retiring after a combined 73 years at Berkeley Carroll!  They have had a lasting impact on our school, colleagues, families, and the thousands of students they’ve taught. We will miss them!

Shelly Adasko is in the vanguard of BC faculty and administrators who solidified the school’s strong reputation in the math and sciences over the last 15 years. She started at BC 40 years ago as an Upper School Math Teacher. She served as the Math Chair for 25 years until 2012, and then became the liaison to BC’s first foray into engineering  -- a joint program with NYU/Poly (later NYU/Tandon) – where she reviewed applications, accompanied our students to their NYU classes, and liaised with their faculty. The success of this program led to BC deciding to establish our own engineering program.

Shelly says, "Berkeley Carroll has grown a lot over the years: the curriculum is always evolving, and the physical plant is constantly expanding. But what hasn’t changed is the quality of the teachers and administrators. They are dedicated, smart, creative, energetic, and caring. They have always been inspiring to me and will continue to be. I will also miss working with the students. They are the heart of the school.”

PreK- 1^st Grade Music Teacher Don Militello has been instilling a love and understanding of music and performance in our youngest students since Sept. 1990 when he entered his first BC classroom, a sharp contrast to his time touring as the piano player for the Glen Miller Band. The joy of his students’ learning and the foundation it establishes for their future education helped inspire BC to deepen and expand our music program over the years, even during years when music education in many schools was at risk.  He redesigned the PreK-1^st grade music curriculum to be include instruments like the xylophone, keyboards, and snare drums, as a complement to singing.

Don says, “One of the many things I’ll miss about BC is how students have a freedom to express themselves and are encouraged to do so. Improvisation is important in performance. If you do make a mistake, just keep going, and make it to the end. If you miss everything else, just make sure you know the last note. And then take a bow.”