Outstanding Teachers of the Month — April
2005
Christine Linton
Principal: Joan M. Indart
Superintendent’s Name: Bernard Gassaway
Name of School: Career Education Center
School District/Region: Alternative High Schools
and Programs
Student Progress: Christine Linton has been a literacy specialist
at various sites in the Career Education Center Alternative
High School Program for the past 16 years. Under Ms. Linton’s
guidance a literacy center was created for all CEC students
in the borough of Brooklyn who are reading at least two
grade levels below the average scores. This literacy center
is housed in HELP New Horizons, a homeless shelter run
by the HELP Organization. The majority of Ms. Linton’s
students are homeless, single mothers awaiting permanent
housing. Ms. Linton works with students individually as
well as in a group setting to help them make incremental
gains in their reading and math levels and to help them
to progress to Basic Education classes. Her classroom is
student-centered and learning takes place in a non-threatening
environment.
Innovative Teaching Strategies: When
a student enters Ms. Linton’s
class, the first strategy implemented is a basic foundation of the multisensory
learning process based on the proven research of the Orton-Gillingham philosophy.
The Orton-Gillingham methodology utilizes phonetics and emphasizes visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles. The instruction of this program
begins by focusing on the structure of language and gradually moves towards
reading. Students are given immediate feedback in a predictable sequence that
integrates reading, writing and spelling. The students in Ms. Linton’s
class move step by step from simple to more complicated material in a sequential,
logical manner that enables them to master important literacy skills. Ms. Linton
believes that this comprehensive approach to reading instruction benefits all
of her students. Ms. Linton has had extensive training in this area and is
considered a master teacher. She has also done many professional development
workshops for our school as well as for the Alternative Superintendency.
Motivating Students: Ms. Linton motivates her students in the learning
process by using many manipulatives which facilitate interesting and practical
hands-on learning. Some of the manipulatives are portable mobiles, interlocking
blocks, word tiles and game cards. Ms. Linton gives her students a manageable
amount of classroom assignments to help reduce their anxiety. She collaborated
with a community person to teach her students chess and in return they are
encouraged to volunteer to work with younger children in his after school program.
She strongly believes in their ability and has high expectations for them to
do well in her class, and in society. After one semester in her class, the
students show noticeable academic gains. Displayed projects represent the work
of many proud students who read books from cover to cover for the first time
in their lives.
Parent/Community Involvement: As Ms. Linton’s literacy center
is located in a homeless shelter; she has frequent contact with parents and
significant others. She also utilizes the CEC Parent Coordinator to organize
parental functions and events. Ms. Linton believes it is essential to have
open dialogue with parents. She involves her students in the CEC Multicultural
Student Conference and publishes their poems in the annual poetry magazine.
Ms. Linton is a nurturing, calm and inspiring influence on the lives of her
students. She is an asset to our school and her colleagues admire and try to
emulate her methods. We feel truly fortunate to have Ms. Linton at our school.
Frances E. Meyers
Principal: Henry Obligado
Superintendent’s Name: Bernard Gassaway
Name of School: Schools 1 and 2
School District/Region: Alternative, Adult and Continuing Education
Schools and Programs
Student Progress: Frances E. Meyers is a creative and dedicated teacher
who is constantly developing. She has worked for the Office of Adult and Continuing
Education for eight years, during which time she has helped numerous students
move from an ESL 1 class to an ESL 2 and ESL 3 class in, very often, just a
few months. Students in our Adult and Continuing Education Program are tested
on the BEST Plus Test, a standardized ESL oral proficiency test. Students
are pre-tested, post-tested and then promoted based on their scores. Her success
is a direct result of her conscientiousness, her good rapport with the students,
and her hours of dedicated work with whole class, small group and individual
students that extends long beyond her regular teaching hours. It is not unusual
to see Ms. Meyers in her class two to three hours after her class has ended
with a student or see students reviewing or reinforcing the day’s lesson.
In addition to small group or individual student tutoring, Ms. Meyers spends
long hours planning lessons and organizing material for the next day’s
lesson.
Innovative Teaching Strategies: The effectiveness
of her teaching is clearly seen in her students’ success. Students improve very quickly
in Ms. Meyers’ class. This is much due to her accurate assessment of
individual student’s needs as it is to her ability to provide students
with constant varied practice in the forms, vocabulary and functions of the
English language until they have mastered them. This is not to say that her
classes are ever boring. She is one of the most creative teachers I have ever
seen. She is constantly expanding her repertoire through workshop attendance,
book reviews and discussion and lesson planning.
Motivating Students: Ms. Meyers is a warm and caring person. She has
a wonderful nurturing and reassuring manner with her students, to which her
students are very responsive. They know very early on that she wants them to
succeed and they have complete confidence in her ability to do so. It is inspiring
to see her work.
Parent/Community Involvement: The students
are the parents of the community where she works. She created an environment
where students feel free to bring their personal and children’s concerns to the classroom. She has gotten
the students to get involved in being active in their children’s schools.
She has set up a children’s library in her classroom. She encourages
her students to take the books home to read to their children.
Elizabeth Geli
Principal: Mrs. Mary Petrone
Superintendent’s Name: Mrs. Michelle Fratti
Name of School: P.S. 19
School District/Region: District 31/Region 7
Student Progress: Mrs. Geli’s 2nd grade class is a powerful example
of when teaching/learning is effective. She has transformed her classroom into
workshops in which students are immersed in the real world of reading and writing
every day. There is an investment of time both by the teacher and the students.
Students create work that is placed in work portfolios. There is ownership
of their writing work because they are interested in its content and have learned
to revisit and revise their work until it has reached its final/published stage.
Furthermore, reading, in Mrs. Geli’s classroom, takes on a fresh new
look. In her readers’ workshops, students are given extended opportunities
to read, have ownership for the selection and spend time responding to what
they’ve read by talking to others and writing about their reactions.
Ms. Geli’s classroom is filled with 25 students, the majority of which
are ESL students (15). Yet, the informal assessments, portfolios and gains
they have made in reading and writing should be celebrated. I suspect it is
because of the discipline she instills in the assessments she chooses. These
assessments include individual conferencing, DRA, Monitoring for Results, ECLAS,
etc. They help Ms. Geli decide “What’s next” and “What’s
best” for each of her students no matter what their ability level. Further,
her desire to elevate each child to success is realized every day when I see
the engagement of students who are eager to learn and participate.
Parent/Community Involvement: Ms. Geli is involved in many aspects of
the parent involvement initiatives at P.S.19. She has coordinated, and organized
the March of Dimes Walk, Bread of Life Campaign and has held workshops for
parents to understand the value of students to participate in outreaches that
elevate the standard of their character. For example, the Read to Feed, sponsored
by the Heffer Foundation was a wonderful and interesting opportunity for parents/students
to reach out to help others.
Frances Nosal
Principal: Mr. Hector Geager
Superintendent’s Name: Mr. Peter Heaney
Name of School: Manhattan Village Academy
School District/Region: Dist 2 Region 9
Student Progress: Ms. Nosal has very high academic
expectations for all of her students and her students rise
to meet them. Often teaching youngsters who are below grade
level in terms of the performance standards, Ms. Nosal
always creates engaging lessons that are tailored to each
class. Using both formal and informal assessments to guide
instructional planning, she teaches a wide variety of skills,
including many aspects of reading and writing. Ms. Nosal’s
classes are constantly varied in style and format and always
highly creative.
Innovative Teaching Strategies: a risk taker, unafraid to try new approaches
or methodologies she believes will benefit students. One recent example is
the use of literature circles in which students were placed in one of five
groups, with each group reading a specific text. As her class read and discussed
five novels simultaneously, Ms. Nosal coordinated both intra and inter-group
discussions by identifying common themes and points of interest. All students
were meaningfully engaged throughout the entire process, culminating the literature
circle by teaching their assigned text to the entire class.
Motivating Students: Ms. Nosal maps out targeted skills that are constantly
woven throughout her teaching, enabling students to meet academic standards
required by the city and state. Both thorough and detailed, her courses of
study provide academic rigor. Ms. Nosal inspires all of them to give their
best, and when they do she pushes them to strive even further. The results
are impressive. One recent example is over one hundred 9th grade students each
wrote a 10-chapter autobiography and made an oral presentation to a panel of
staff members. As always, throughout the entire process all students received
the level of support and encouragement needed. In many aspects, this project
serves to mold student expectations for the remainder of their school experience.
Parent/Community Involvement: Ms. Nosal is committed to involving herself
with the parents of her students, holding conferences and making phone calls
as needed. Ms. Nosal meets with parents of students while attending the MVA
basketball team games. Ms. Nosal hosted a bake sale for the students at MVA
to raise money for the Tsunami Relief Fund. Ms. Nosal baked the items herself.
She attended the College Night Fair involving parents gaining knowledge of
financial aid. Ms. Nosal attended the High School Fair, engaging students interested
in attending 9th Grade at Manhattan Village Academy.
Ken Tudor
Principal: Robert Zweig
Superintendent’s Name: Bernard Gassaway
Name of School: Offsite Educational Services
School District/Region: 79/8
Student Progress: Mr. Ken Tudor currently teaches
Math and Science at Offsite Educational Services at the
Thomas Askin Youth Program/Jewish Board site. This site
is located at Coney Island Avenue and Quentin Road in Brooklyn,
New York. Mr. Tudor educates at-risk students who battle
many issues other than academics which include, in some
instances, drug abuse, mental health illnesses, behavioral
issues, truancy etc. Mr. Tudor joined the Offsite Educational
Services staff in September 2004. He has been a beacon
of light in a site that needed direction, structure and
organization. Mr. Tudor is a person who goes above and
beyond the normal expectations of a teacher who will stay
one to three hours a day beyond his regularly scheduled
time. During this time, Mr. Tudor has assisted students
with their homework, provided extra help in areas that
need attention, created a Chess Club, and created an Arts & Crafts
Activity Club. Mr. Tudor has been a spark to our program.
Even though he has been a part of OES for just one year,
his attitude, dedication, commitment, enthusiasm, energy
and concern for the well being of our students is exemplified
every day he engages the students of Offsite Educational
Services at the Thomas Askin Youth Program/Jewish Board
site. Mr. Tudor’s students have shown progress in
the following areas: since Mr. Tudor’s arrival, attendance
has increased, student average grades have increased this
school year as compared to last school year, excellent
student participation in activities including model and
kite building exercises, student interest is clearly displayed
on a daily basis due to the care, respect, effective classroom
management and overall positive instructional techniques
that are used to motivate and engage our students.
Innovative Teaching Strategies: Mr. Tudor
has used several strategic techniques to engage students. These strategies
include the incorporation of kite building in Math A Class to demonstrate how
the various angles were needed to construct a flyable object. Mr. Tudor used
the kite building exercise to explain the various degrees of a triangle and
the difference between supplementary and acute angles. He demonstrated how
the various angles, when completed with wood and kite paper, can create a kite
that can actually fly. When the exercise was completed, the students went to
a local park and actually flew the kites. Mr. Tudor also used the activity
of model building to explain how buildings, bridges, planes and cars are built.
Mr. Tudor’s “hands on” approach
created a new way to absorb these areas of study.
Motivating Students: Mr. Tudor has displayed the ability to motivate
his students throughout the semester. This can be demonstrated by some of the
examples of the following finished projects: the creation of flying a kite,
the building of a model which included a tower, car, plane, etc, creating student
groups for individual student projects.
Parent/Community Involvement: Due to Mr. Tudor’s commitment to his students and school, he has
made himself available not only to the students but also to the parents. He
frequently meets with parents after school. He is more than willing to stay
after school hours to accommodate the time constraints of parents. This is
an extremely commendable act. Mr. Tudor is also involved in the Offsite Educational
Services’ Parents Association, which provides access to many organizations
that assist students in this great city.
Gloria Torres
Principal: Mrs. Jeanette Sosa
Superintendent’s Name: Reyes Irizarry
Name of School: P.S. 151K
School District/Region: District 32 / Region 4
Student Progress: She is an exceptional SETTS teacher
(Special Education Teacher Support Services), a position
that she has held for the past two years. Prior to that,
she taught self-contained special education classes that
spanned grades three, four and five. Before that, she was
a paraprofessional for twenty-two years. P.S. 151K is certainly
fortunate to have such an exceptional teacher as a member
of our staff. Ms. Torres works with small groups of targeted
children, giving them nearly individualized instruction
in concentrated areas of the curriculum. These fortunate
students receive the necessary skills that will allow them
to progress and eventually succeed in their regular classroom.
Ms. Torres bursts with pride when she describes their progress
and achievement. The children’s work is displayed
on beautiful bulletin boards as well as in colorful portfolios.
Students are able to demonstrate their ability in decoding
unknown words, writing skills are vastly improved and they
develop more ability in math when they can perform various
operations with ease. In a nutshell, Ms. Torres knows that
they have shown the most progress when they no longer need
her!
Innovative Teaching Strategies: Ms.
Torres is required to implement the very same teaching strategies as the rest
of our teaching staff. She uses Everyday Math as well as the Teachers’ College
Model for literacy. However, along with these techniques, she intrigues the
students with some very unique teaching approaches. She is well trained in
the Wilson Reading Program, where students perfect their reading through tapping
out sounds. She is also quite well known for the Great Leaps Program, a remedial
program accompanied by Leapfrog Learning Machines, and do the students relish
that! She participates in the Schools Attuned program, a program that develops
the students neurologically, builds on their strengths and assists them in
overcoming their weaknesses. This accomplished teacher perfects student writing
skills by coaching them in planning their writing using web mapping, implements
a wide variety of teacher-made manipulatives for math instruction, incorporates
a great deal of technology in all areas of her teaching and assists students
in being able to always check their math using calculators.
Motivating Students: Ms. Torres clearly motivates
her students to be very involved in the many activities involved in her teaching
strategies. She tells of a particular student who arrived as “a blank slate.” After
four years with Ms. Torres, this student today scores threes and fours on standardized
tests, loves school, and beams with pride, almost as brightly as his teacher!
Other students are peer tutors in the program, reinforcing their grasp of subject
matter and passing it on to others. When appropriate, students participate
in-group discussions, assisting classmates in finding good solutions to pressing
problems. Another motivation Ms. Torres finds successful is to use a wide variety
of materials, along with allowing students to select their favorite color for
folder, portfolio, etc. The students love this, and take a greater pride in
their work.
Parent/Community Involvement: Ms. Torres
is a unique teacher, and her approach to parents is unique as well. She begins
the year with a letter of introduction. She sends home a gift packet to parents,
consisting of colorful paper, special markers, pens, pencils, flash cards,
etc. and instructs parents with tips on how to best use these in assisting
their children. She collects brochures and materials to benefit parents in
being better able to work with the child at home. If necessary, she translates
the material into the native language of the home. Some students require an
FM unit for more ability in hearing. Ms. Torres invites the parent up to try
out the unit themselves, to better understand the child’s experience.
In all, Ms. Gloria Torres does whatever she can to make the homeschool connection
the most pleasant experience that it can possibly be. It is with the utmost
pride that I offer you Ms. Gloria Torres as P.S. 151K’s teacher of the
month.
