Physical and Health Education

Teams

• Leadership

• Arts

• Counseling

• ELA

• Foreign Language

• Math

• PE & Health

• Support Staff

• Science

• Social Studies

• Learning Specialists

• College Readiness

Ali ‘Cohen”

Ali Cohen was born and raised on Long Island, attended Buffalo State then went on to earn a Masters is Physical Education from Adelphi University. After graduating Ali worked on Long Island for a few years then took the leap and moved across the country to Las Vegas. She taught health and PE for 16 years at a private school in the Las Vegas Valley. In 2017 she moved back to NYC to be closer to her family, who still live on Long Island. Ali has worked for the DOE since then, this is her 2nd year at WESS. Ali lives on the Upper West Side with her husband Rob and their dog Chibbs. When they are not working Ali is always training for a half or full marathon, and they do a ton of traveling. Spending most of the summer abroad in the UK, and exploring Europe.

Marianna

Marianna is excited to start her 9th year teaching Physical Education at WESS.. After growing up in Brooklyn and Staten Island, she graduated from Long Island University with a BS in Health and Physical Education. She then went on to graduate with an MS in Early Childhood. She is extremely passionate about sports, physical activities, and just about everything outdoors! Marianna spends her summers as the Director of a reputable teen tour company, which provides her the opportunity to travel the world while simultaneously teaching leadership skills to teenagers. She is a firm believer in the importance of modeling healthy living for teens and helping her students become confident leaders and decision-makers. Her ultimate goal is to instill a love of fitness and a life-long commitment to health for all students at WESS. Teaching coaching is my passion.

Jozef

Jozef “Joe” Mackie is a British-born and raised PE teacher and sports enthusiast. Joe started his work as a PE and computer science teacher in 2007 in London at the Alperton Community School. There, through lottery funding, he developed a boxing program for inner-city children with James DeGale, an Olympic gold medalist and Middleweight world champion boxer. Jozef also developed a rugby academy, providing underprivileged students access to the sport and a pathway to a professional team. Joe moved to Los Angeles in 2010. While in LA, he provided professional development for a charter network of 15 schools in Compton and Inglewood while simultaneously developing a rugby program for his network schools. His work was featured in an ESPN documentary called “Scrum the movie: Rugby in the Inner City.” In 2012, Joe moved to New York City to become a founding teacher at Westchester Square Academy in the Bronx. There, he served as a PE teacher and dean while developing a PSAL rugby program for the entire Lehman Campus. In 2017, Joe joined West Side High School, a transfer school, serving as dean, PE & computer science teacher, and rugby coach. In his free time, Joe enjoys planning events for the NYC Dads Group, cooking, and traveling abroad with his wife-a NYCDOE educator, and their two young daughters - Maia and Cora Sainabou.

Tom

Tom was born in Queens and raised in Long Island. He attended Binghamton University then went on to complete a Masters in Physical Education at Hofstra University.  Tom has been teaching for the past 14 years, starting off his career in Brooklyn and the last 9 years in Queens. His passion is volleyball, both playing in leagues and coaching. Tom has been coaching both JV and varsity girls/boys volleyball for the past 20 years and has also coached at the college level. He brought his boys varsity volleyball team to win 4 back to back championships.  Tom lives in NJ with his wife, Jessica and two children, Lilly (4) and Logan (2).