Ms. Comas is a Music Educator and Dramatic Arts teacher at the Bay Academy. She has taught at The Bay Academy for over 15 years. She is also a classically trained pianist and vocal coach.  Her experience teaching at  Bay Academy has been one of self-discovery and growth, which she will continue to enjoy throughout her career. 

“I love being an instructor of the Performing Arts. The strategies and methods of putting on a show can be challenging at times. However, the end result of student’s applying music concepts,  performing a scene stage,  and sharing the performance with friends, and teachers with great pride  is what makes it the most rewarding experience ever!"

Molly McGrath is a certified Art Teacher with 11 years of experience at the Bay Academy. Prior to the Bay Academy, she worked in two private schools in Brooklyn. Mrs. McGrath has Master’s Degrees in Art Education and School Leadership from Brooklyn College and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Art History from SUNY Oneonta. Mrs. McGrath’s instructional focus is to challenge students to learn big ideas that transfer to other subjects and apply in life. Through discussion and investigation, she encourages students to define their voices, refine their art skills, and express their emerging identities. Her work has been recognized by the National Art Education Association. In 2017, she presented her approach to art instruction at the annual convention. For many years, she has collaborated with Brooklyn College, for which her classroom has become a lab school for teacher training. At Bay Academy, Mrs. McGrath teaches the Set Design club and coaches cheerleading. She is a member of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, and Oh D.E.A.R, a book club for teachers. During her own middle school days, Mrs. McGrath enjoyed music and dance, had a menagerie of pets and aspired to become an art teacher.

Meredith Samuelson is a certified Visual Arts teacher at Bay Academy. Prior to beginning her teaching career, she worked in Children’s Book Production for Penguin Putnam. Mrs. Samuelson has a BFA in Illustration from the Hartford Art School and a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Brooklyn College. She is the founder and co-advisor to Bay Academy’s Set Design program, the founder and co-advisor to the student newspaper The Bay Current, and the founder of the Bay Academy’s chapter of No One Eats Alone, a school wide program to combat social isolation. Her students have been recognized as city wide winners in the P.S. Art Awards, borough and city wide winners in the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking competition, and have won Gold and Silver Keys in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Mrs. Samuelson knew she wanted to pursue a career in the arts in the fifth grade, after the critical acclaim of her first picture book, The Land of the Pink Unicorns. She is the mother to two wonderful boys and two marginally well-behaved cats.

For the past eight years I have taught at Bay Academy. Certified in both Dance & Special Education, dance has always been a passion of mine and an important part of my life.  I look forward to sharing that passion with my students in the studio and helping them to feel confident, motivated and inspired at all times while working in an environment that they feel comfortable to express themselves in. I began dancing recreationally at the age of three and competitively dancing at the age of ten, competing and performing in different dance showcases throughout the city.  I have been trained in many different styles including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Modern Lyrical & Contemporary and recently taken continuing courses through the DEL Lab. Being part of a dance troupe, our choreography has been celebrated and showcased in different NYC festivals such as COOL NY, the Dumbo Dance Festival, Kat Wildish Dance Festival and AIM Invitational. I found a love for choreographing and teaching at a young age and enjoyed my time choreographing many recital pieces. Studying at The Broadway Dance Center and The Brooklyn Dance Center throughout my dance career has allowed me to incorporate many different experiences into my teaching practice.  My hope is to build confident, strong and disciplined well-rounded dancers and students who will succeed in not only dance but in all they strive to do.