READY TO LEAD

Goyer joins CSO as the director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Amanda Goyer, the new director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for diocesan schools, said: “One of the big things I do is going out into the schools to see what our schools are doing in classrooms. What resources they have, how I can help in various ways. That will be fun being able to get back into the schools because our schools have so much to offer.” (Emily Benson photo)

There are times when no matter how much things may change, they always manage to stay the same. For Amanda Goyer, it was a love for the classroom.

No matter where she went, as a teacher and then principal, Goyer took her love for the classroom with her into her various careers. Now, Goyer is helping classrooms across the Albany Diocese as the newest director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the Diocesan Catholic School Office (CSO).

“I saw it as an opportunity,” Goyer told The Evangelist. “I said I’m going to apply and give it to God and see what happens, and I was the one they chose! I was shocked a bit but grateful, and I’m looking forward to using my expertise and knowledge in this new position.”

As director, Goyer will help teachers and principals across the Diocese with any curriculum and instruction questions or concerns.

“Basically, I’m the one who oversees curriculum in the schools,” Goyer explained. “The instruction, making sure that we’ve got standards in place and programs are running properly … or if there are teachers or principals who have questions about curriculum and instruction.”

“One of the big things I do is going out into the schools to see what our schools are doing in classrooms,” she added. “What resources they have, how I can help in various ways. That will be fun being able to get back into the schools because our schools have so much to offer.”

Before joining CSO, Goyer started her teaching career at St. Mary’s Academy in Hoosick Falls where she taught for nine years before becoming assistant principal and later principal of the school. Goyer led St. Mary’s for two years until the school closed in 2019.

She served briefly as the grant administrator for the Office of Prevention Education Services for the PAX Good Behavior Game Program, a classroom tool designed to give students the skills necessary to reduce risk factors associated with drug use and addiction, before being called back to the classroom as principal at Sacred Heart School in Troy.

After three years of leading Sacred Heart, Goyer felt that she was ready to take the next step in her career.

“I love the classroom,” she said. “I loved Sacred Heart. I loved the kids, the teachers, the community. We did a lot of great things in the three years I was there, but this was an opportunity for me, and I just couldn’t not apply for it. I couldn’t let it go by and then wonder, ‘What if?’ ”

Goyer said that it “was a struggle” to leave the school setting behind, but ultimately she knew she made the right choice. “I did a lot of praying and in the end I made the decision I felt was right for me. And not only was I effecting change at a local level, I get to effect change on a diocesan level, and that excites me to help other schools, not just one.”

A native to the Albany Diocese, Goyer grew up attending Immaculate Conception parish in Hoosick Falls where she volunteered as an altar server and lector while attending Hoosick Falls Central School. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in childhood education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from SUNY Plattsburgh. 

Now, Goyer is looking forward to helping prepare students “for the world they’re going to encounter when they leave.”

“One of the things I love about (the students) is how kind, caring and compassionate they are,” Goyer said. “Our kids have an ability to love one another and treat each other with respect, and that starts from an early age because of the Gospel teachings we preach in our classrooms. And that difference, as our kids grow and they learn and they change, you really can see how that affects how they are in a positive way. They hold doors open for you, they say good morning to you, they help each other without needing to be prompted, they just do it. Because as a Catholic school, that’s what we embody, that’s who we are.”