Making History Honoring
Outstanding Teachers in New York City
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Schools Chancellor Joel Klein & Honoree
Ben Sherman |
CUNY Vice-Chancellor
Jay Hershenson |
The Department of Education, as the Board of Education is
now known, is over 100 years old. During that time, the pendulum
has swung from centralization to decentralization and back,
from teaching reading via phonics to the whole language approach
and now back to phonics again, from bilingual education to
immersion and back. Reform movements have abounded, thrived
and died. Underlying all the rhetoric, the steadfast image
of the teacher has remained undiminished. And the preparation
of fine, solid educators has been the cornerstone of our children’s
success. Yet, no one has ever celebrated or honored outstanding
teachers until Education Update decided to do so. Recommended
by principals, superintendents and colleagues, 46 teachers
appeared throughout the year in the pages of the award-winning
monthly culminating in a ceremony at the Cornell Club on June
28th, the last day of school.
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David
Bauer, Hunter HS, Intel winner &
Michael Vishnevetsky, Midwood HS, Nobel essay winner |
Honoree
Mark Finkle, Dairon Amaya, Zenymarie Colazzo, Alba
Cuevas
with Principal Elba Lopez from
PS 33 Bronx |
Dr.
Manuel Zevallos &
Dr.
Sandra Ruiz |
Teachers were proudly accompanied by their supervisors and
family members. All five boroughs were represented across all
grade levels. Dr. Pola Rosen, founder and publisher of Education
Update, and a teacher, supervisor and college professor for
many years, shared the fulfillment of her dream to honor these “wonderful
teachers who serve as inspirations and guides to knowledge,
remembered forever by the young people whose lives they’ve
touched.” Vice Chancellor of The City University of New
York, Jay Hershenson, placed a ribboned gold medal over the
heads of the teachers as they were called up to receive their
certificates by the sponsors of the event.
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Dr.
Maritza Macdonald &
Carolyn Everett, Everett Foundation |
Dr.
Pola Rosen, David Bauer & Vice Chancellor Jay Hershenson |
Dr.
Selma Botman, Vice Chancellor Jay Hershenson,
Honoree Durojaye Akindutire, Dean Alfred Posamentier |
Education Update is
grateful to the following sponsors who made the event possible:
Barnes & Noble; Con Edison, Marie Cutrone Smith, Director
of Strategic Giving; Council of Supervisors and Administrators,
Jill Levy, President; The Everett Foundation, Edith Everett,
President, Carolyn Everett, VP; Lindamood-Bell, New York
Learning Center, Liz Craynon, Clinic Director; McGraw-Hill,
Dr. Charlotte K. Frank, Sr. VP; Scholastic Education, Francie
Alexander, Sr. VP & Chief Academic Officer; Laurie Tisch
Sussman, Founder, Center for the Arts & Children’s
Museum of Manhattan; Regent, Dr. Merryl Tisch, NYS Board
of Regents; Stephen Wertheimer, M.D.
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Dean
Alfred Posamentier, Dr. Selma Botman,
Rebecca Saladis, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson &
Senior VP Scholastic Education Francie Alexander |
Dr.
Selma Botman, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson,
Angelita Untalan, Dean Alfred Posamentier |
In
addition, honorees received gifts and passes from the American
Museum of Natural History, Learning Matters, New York Aquarium,
New York Botanical Garden, and gift certificates for school
libraries from Barnes & Noble.
Vice-Chancellor
Hershenson gave welcoming remarks. “More than 60 percent of CUNY’s
first-time freshmen come from New York City’s public
schools. So CUNY’s successes are really an indication
of success in the K-12 sector. And for that, we have Chancellor
Joel Klein and the dedicated teachers of our City to thank.
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Dr.
Rob Wertheimer,
Adam Sugerman,
Dr. Pola Rosen & Dr. Herman Rosen
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Natalie
Andersen & President Carolyn Williams
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PS33
students with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein |
A
key to that partnership is our work to prepare students for
college. Through a program run through CUNY and the Department
of Education, called College Now, students can take college-credit
courses and develop their academic skills while still in
high school. College Now has grown dramatically in the last
few years, and today more than 37,000 students are enrolled
in more than 200 high schools around the city.” The
keynote address was delivered by Schools Chancellor Joel
I. Klein.
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Dr.
Selma Botman, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson, Deborah
Brandt-Blanc, Principal Joan Washington
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Dr.
Selma Botman, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson,
Laura Bertolotti,
& Dr. Merryl Kafka
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Dr.
Selma Botman, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson, Thomas
Porton, and Adam Sugerman |
One
of the high points of the program was a series of musical
performances from three students of PS 33, Dairon Amaya,
Alba Cuevas, and Zenymarie Colazzo, under the direction of
honoree Mark Finkle. The young, talented singers were met
with standing ovations as they sang heartfelt renditions
of popular songs and musicals including Mariah Carey’s Hero and The Lion
King.
Rosen
recalled the words of teacher Christa McAuliffe who died
on the doomed space shuttle Challenger, “I touch the
future; I teach.”
Teachers of the Year 2005
Durojaye
Akindutire, Marcia Arcentales, Maria Barry, Laura Bertolotti,
Myrtha Borges, Deborah Brandt-Blanc, Judith Caputo, Yolanda
Cartegena, Cynthia Cashman, Shantay Danzy, Marlene DaSilva-Hinds,
Sharon Davis, Linda Dominguez, Mark Finkle, Evelyn Fortis,
Della Furiano, Beverly Gammon Hill, Elizabeth Geli, Serena
Goldberg, Dawn Haskin, Teresa Kutza, Cheryl Lee, Christine
Linton, Malcolm McDowell, Robert McDuffie, Melissa Meehan,
Evangeline Mercado, Frances E. Meyers, Maureen Murphy, Iris
Nazario, Frances Nosal, Robinson Ortiz, Richard Parker, Thomas
Porton, Marisol Rivera, Olga Rosa, Rebecca Rufo, Rebecca
Saladis, Ben Sherman, Michele Smyth, Claudia Teti, Gloria
Torres, Ken Tudor, Angelita Unalan, Pat Wallace, Michael
Wotypka.
