Outstanding Teachers
of the Month — March 2005
Mark Finkle
Principal: Elba
Lopez
Superintendent’s
Name: Irma Zardoya,
PS 33
School District/Region: District 10/Region 1
Student Progress: Mr.
Finkle has been our music teacher in our school for more
than 20 years. Sharing Music with children is his greatest
delight. He believes that real joy comes not from riches
or from praise of people, but from doing something worthwhile.
Mr. Finkle’s
philosophy is that music belongs to everyone for his or her
entire life. He shares the beginning of that journey with
all his children. He has established a lifelong partnership
with the artist of Music Outreach. During the year every
child has the opportunity for many informal and at least
one formal performance opportunity. He believes that it is
the culmination of all the hard work and discipline needed
to perform music well that brings a sense of individual worth
and community awareness to our students. Every year our students
perform with the West End Philharmonic Orchestra and they
are invited to sing at many TV programs and other functions.
Mr. Finkle dedicates many hours of his free time to bring
children to audition for Broadway Shows. Some of our students
have been selected to work in various Broadway plays and
TV programs. Most of the students participating in Mr. Finkle’s
chorus meet their benchmarks in reading and in Math.
Innovative
Teaching Strategies: Mr. Finkle’s lessons for his students
are enriched, sequential and skill building. He plans lessons
to teach pattern recognition and mental representation. These
skills have been helping our fourth grade students to do
well on their math test. In our school, we program weekly
assemblies. Our students learn songs and plays to present
to parents and other classes. Mr. Finkle records the program
on a MIDI Sequencer. Then he plays it back for rehearsals
and performances. He also makes tapes and videotape recordings
for his students to practice. When he uses a piano accompaniment,
he adds other sounds when he records it for a program. He
also adds other instruments like percussion or sound effects
to spice up the accompaniment. If he is using a composition
that is well known, he downloads the MIDI file of this song
from the Internet and uses it for his concert. Mr. Finkle
integrates Music Education and Technology. He focuses on
the technology available for Music-Education; including music-related
applications, the latest products for music lessons, software
and Web sites that help him prepare for concerts and competitions,
track band instruments, and more.
Motivating
Students: Our students do well on their math tests. In 2003
88 percent of our fourth grade students scored 3s and 4s
on the State math Test. In 2004, 86 percent of our students
scored 3s and 4s on the state math test. If you visit, our
school you will see how engaged and responsible our students
are with their schoolwork. Throughout many years, our school
has been out-performing similar schools in reading, math,
social studies and science tests. Our students perform at
weekly assemblies. They have great skills and discipline
working with others in teamwork and group work. Our students’ notebooks,
portfolios and other daily work show their progress and discipline.
Our science projects get public recognition year after year.
Other schools and principals come to learn from us and to
bring some of our techniques and ideas to their schools.
Parent/Community
Involvement: In our school we have great parental involvement.
We have large number of parents at our Weekly Assemblies,
concerts at Lehman College, Our holiday’s show, Black History
Assembly, Mid Winter Assembly, Spring Show, Mother’s
Day Show, Award Ceremony Assemblies, Trips to various concerts
and other functions. Many parents volunteer to work with
Mr. Finkle to accompany the children when they go to group
performances and to prepare for weekly assemblies.
Linda Dominguez
Principal: Lisa Esposito
Superintendent’s
Name: Joyce Fonollosa
PS 8R
School District/Region: District
31/Region 7
Student
Progress: At least a half-dozen of Mrs. Dominguez’s students were decertified
from full-time special education to regular education in
the past five years. In the “mainstream” these
pupils have achieved academic success, as evidenced by classroom
performance and formal assessment. The students who are currently
in Mrs. Dominguez’ special needs class demonstrate
the ability to go beyond what is required by NYC standards.
Whenever you visit their classroom, hands are flying and
pupil responses reflect a higher-order of thinking. Students
are always “thinking out of the box” and they
are never afraid to take risks. Looking at student work (portfolios,
monthly writing samples) proves that her students are progressing
towards their individual goals. Whenever a student shows
competency in a subject area, Mrs. Dominquez mainstreams
him/her for that particular subject. The student’s
experience within the general education setting helps him
progress ever further towards meeting academic and social
goals.
Innovative
Teaching Strategies: Each day the students in Mrs. Dominguez’ class work
cooperatively to complete assigned tasks. Their teacher thinks
out loud and models specific skills and strategies that she
wants her children to learn. In small groups, paraprofessionals
help facilitate the learning process. Watch out! When
you see Mrs. Dominquez donning a cap, DO NOT DISTURB her.
That means she’s conferencing 1:1 or with a small group.
Little strategies like these help set clear expectations
for her students and help innovate teaching and learning.
Motivating
Students: Last year Mrs. Dominguez’ class participated in a thematic
unit on Native Americans, which lead into a class tradition
of students greeting each other in different languages. Each
month a different culture is highlighted, thus motivating
the students to learn more about multiculturalism. As an
Orton-Gillingham specialist, Mrs. Dominguez encourages her
students to use all of their senses to solve problems and
think critically. Her multi-sensory approach to teaching
the core curriculum has provided her students with hands-on
experience. In Mrs. Dominguez’ class, all learning
styles are met.
Parent/Community
Involvement: In September 2004 Chancellor Joel Klein visited
Public School 8 for a day. Mrs. Dominguez and her class were
hand-selected by the superintendent to help host this historic
event. The Chancellor was thrilled with the academic rigor
he witnessed in this classroom. For over 20 years Mrs. Dominguez
has awed the entire educational community with her ability
to “reach” every
child. She certainly is a master teacher, an ideal candidate
for Education Update’s Teacher of the Month!!
Thomas
Porton
Principal: Janet Reda
Superintendent’s
Name: Laura Rodriguez
Monroe
Academy for Visual Arts & Design
School District/Region: Region 2
Student
Progress: Students in Mr. Porton’s Leadership Class demonstrate their
progress in a remarkable variety of ways. From projects through
which students feed and clothe the homeless, to his AIDS
VAN program that provides street corner HIV/AIDS lessons
to teens throughout the community, to his annual productions
of musical and dramatic programs and assemblies to honor
diversity (Black History Month, Women’s History Month,
etc), to his “Teen to Teen” Health Conferences
held each spring at Montefiore Medical Center to educate
and motivate NYC teens to take the lead in health issues,
Mr. Porton’s students are constantly developing their
self-esteem, caring, and independence that is unique among
teens nowadays.
Innovative
Teaching Strategies: Throughout his thirty-five years at Monroe, Mr. Porton has
been at the forefront of using media in his classroom. He
uses film, drama, music, art, and computer graphics in a
wide variety of classroom strategies to make learning exciting
for his students. In the past, Mr. Porton has conducted workshops
on the use of film to inspire and educate students in the
classroom for other teachers throughout New York State. His
use of drama has also been recognized through his HIV/AIDS
program, Bronx Youth Creating Compassion, through which he
uses role-plays to teach students about safer behaviors.
That recognition has included his induction as the only New
York City teacher in the National Teachers Hall of Fame,
as well as the Disney Teachers Award, the National Caring
Award, and, most recently, the New York City Liberty Medal,
presented by Mayor Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion.
Motivating
Students: Proof of Mr. Porton’s success in the classroom is no more
complicated than the fact that 50-60 students show up for
his Leadership class every morning at 7:45 a.m. in the morning.
When other students are on their way to school, Mr. Porton’s
students are planning school and community improvement projects
that will cause them to grow as both students and caring
human beings. He also creates great student interest by allowing
his students to participate in a wide variety of special
programs, such as the Theatre Development Fund “Stage
Doors” Program, exposing his students to Broadway shows,
and the National Book Foundation Family Literacy Program,
which brings a noted poet to Monroe for a residency each
year.
Parent/Community
Involvement: As mentioned above, Mr. Porton has actively
involved his students in community outreach projects for
his entire thirty-five-year career. Virtually every project
Mr. Porton creates actively recruits parent and community
involvement. He has motivated parent/community involvement
in his major musical/dramatic productions, ranging from parental
creation of costumes to performances by community groups.
This past Thanksgiving, as in many years past, he mobilized
hundreds of students and parents to cook and serve dinner
for more than 300 homeless men, women, and children. Among
his most important and successful recent projects was an “AIDS Orphans Awareness Day” that
brought together hundreds of community residents for a day
of entertainment and education. A secondary result of that
event was the dedication of an 80-foot HIV/AIDS mural for
the community, created by Tats Cru, a group of professional
graffiti artists who started their careers as Monroe students
in the 1980s.
Iris Nazario
Principal: Jeanette
Sosa
P.S. 151K
School District/Region: District
32/ Region 4
Student
Progress: Ms. Iris Nazario is currently a kindergarten teacher
who has taught at P.S. 151K for the past fourteen years.
During her distinguished career, she has had a wide variety
of interesting assignments. Before coming to kindergarten,
she taught first and third grades, preceded by assignments
as a computer teacher and science cluster. The little ones
in Ms. Nazario’s class
show amazing progress for children so young. Using portfolio
assessment, informal observations and the benchmarks of Voyager
and ECLAS, she is able to assess their progress and document
all achievements. When asked how she does it, Ms. Nazario
replies, “I just watch their work.” Her room
is print rich with student work, and so it is easy to see
that there is quite a lot going on.
Innovative
Teaching Strategies: Ms. Nazario uses a wide variety of innovative
strategies in her everyday teaching. She strongly feels that visual
stimulation is a most important component of her teaching
style. Ms. Nazario states that her approach is to start teaching
where the children begin. Where do they need to start? Where
is each child in September? This is what she quickly assesses
to launch a solidly packed year of instruction. Iris is a
nurturing person, and this is very much in evidence in her
interaction with each student. She is lavish with praise,
where warranted, and the students love her for it. She
gives a great deal of emotional support to her students.
Her philosophy is to praise the child and try to ignore negative
behaviors wherever possible.
Motivating
Students: Ms. Nazario’s students are highly motivated. They are eager
to tell about whatever they are doing in class at the moment.
They are in kindergarten and they are working very hard.
Ms. Nazario brings her skills as a first grade teacher into
the kindergarten classroom. Student achievement can be seen
in their constant progress. Just contrast their work from
September to the present day. The evidence of improvement
is right there. They demonstrate excellent letter and sound
recognition. Ms. Nazario shares the credit for the children’s
progress with the parental support that she sees growing
each year. She states that she thoroughly enjoys the constant
interaction and dialog with the parents, as they write to
her to inform her of each child’s problem, insect bite,
burn, or to express a concern or ask a question.
Parent/Community
Involvement: The subject of parent involvement is one that
is very dear to Ms. Nazario. She states that she welcomes
any parent who volunteers to accompany the class on a trip,
no matter how many offer to go. She feels that a parent and
child sharing a learning experience is just priceless. She
beams with pride as she tells of the collaborated projects
that parents and children have completed and sent in for
display. Parents are always welcome in her room, for any
reason, at any time of day. P.S. 151K parents certainly appreciate
this openness. It is a pleasure for Ms. Nazario to see that
homework assignments are signed and that parents usually
stop by to pick up the homework for an absentee child, Parents
even request a work packet should an emergency warrant an
out of town trip. It is a real pleasure to nominate Ms. Iris
Nazario for this prestigious award—Education Update’s
Teacher of the Month.
Evangeline Mercado
Principal: Mrs. Eva Garcia
Superintendent’s
Name: Laura Rodriguez
P.S. 75X
School District/Region: District
8/Region 2
Innovative Teaching Strategies: Ms. Mercado is indeed a positive force within our school
community. Her actions, which mirror her dedication and commitment
to the students of P.S. 75X, throughout her years of service,
are worthy of note and praise. Her tireless and selfless
work is by far worthy of emulation by her peers. Ms Mercado
firmly believes in providing equitable and quality learning
experiences for all students. She states this can only happen
in an environment that encourages and supports the best practices
in instruction. Teachers, students, parents, and administrators
must become a community of learners. Ms Mercado personifies
the best in our profession. Her achievements serve as an
inspiration to members of our UFT Chapter at P.S.75X. Her
ability to work with all students in an inclusive and positive
environment is commendable. As a Reading Specialist, Mercado
has constantly demonstrated her ability to guide talented
and gifted students as well as strengthen the skills and
abilities of reluctant readers in the Reading Lab.
Motivating
Students: Ms. Mercado often says that the children and staff
of P.S.75X have a special place in her heart. Her fond memories
of her student days at P.S.75X have enabled her to create
fond memories for all of her students. And each year her
students return from high school and college to provide her
with their academic updates. Her students continue to make
progress one step at a time. I might also note: Ms Mercado’s ability
to foster excellence in education is also personified in
her academically gifted children: Eric, Felicia and Amanda. Erica,
Felicia, and Amanda are educators today. As a teacher of
teachers and member of the P.S. 75X Professional Development
Committee, Mercado provides teachers with opportunities for
intellectual growth and development. This is initiated through
a series of literacy workshops, demonstration lessons, and
audiovisual presentations. In addition to the aforementioned,
she has designed a weekly study group that enables educators
to meet before class and explore current research and writings
in the field of education. Her goal is to empower teachers
with the instructional practices that can enhance student
achievement and prepare the student for life-long-learning.
Parent/Community
Involvement: “Parents
must be also be empowered to grow intellectually,” states
Mercado. As the P.S.75X Parent Liaison, Mercado conducted
literacy workshops as well as conflict resolution workshops.
She also began talks with the Department of Continuing Education
at the Board of Education in an effort to institute the first
series of adult English as a Second Language (ESL) classes
for our parents. “Surely, Education is the key. A parent
is a child’s first teacher. Parents must be given the
skills needed to prepare their children at home prior to
entry into a school setting,” Mercado further states. “Parents
must also provide the educational support to the child as
he/she progresses in school. Students continue to come to
school at different stages of preparedness. We must strive
to make their education as equitable as possible. The education
of a child is a collaborative process. Parents, teachers
and children are all involved in that process.” As
chairperson of the Team Leadership Committee at P.S. 75X,
Mercado helped to write the P.S.75X Comprehensive Education
Plan. This plan now serves as a guide for the staff. School
Goals and Objectives are outlined and an action plan describes
curriculum activities. Today, this Comprehensive Education
Plan (combined with a guidance plan and student handbook)
helps to clarify the high expectations desired for students
and staff.
Richard Parker
Principal: Carmen Gonzalez
Superintendent’s
Name: Dr. Marcia Lyles
PS 46, Edward C. Blum School
School District/Region: District
13/Region 8
Student
Progress: Mr. Richard Parker has motivated hundreds of students
at our school in the instrumental music program. Students
who are in music class have made tremendous gains in math
and reading due to his personal commitment and teaching strategies.
Mr. Parker helps students to understand the relationship
between reading music notes and reading a book, understanding
counting beats and learning fractions in math. His
continued motivation assists students in improved attendance
and class work. Students have measurable increase in DRA
reading assessments and informal math assessments used at
the school.
Innovative
Teaching Strategies: Mr. Parker uses the Yamaha Computerized Keyboard program
to keep track of student progress in music. He demands attention
and commitment to the music program which then translates
to commitment and dedication to student achievement. Mr.
Parker insists that students read about great musicians,
the challenges they faced and their successes. He spends
a great deal of time providing one-on-one and small group
instruction to students after school and during intervention
periods and on Saturdays. He provides a great deal of visuals
with students during instruction to help them learn basic
instrumental techniques. Mr. Parker begins instrumental music
instruction with Pre K students to help build strong foundations
in music.
Motivating
Students: Mr. Parker has motivated both students and parents
in maintaining academic achievement as their primary goal.
Students who do not perform required academic work are not
permitted to practice or attend jazz band or music class
sessions after school. Mr. Parker checks with classroom teacher
to monitor student academic growth in reading and math. Mr.
parker meets regularly with parents to encourage tutorial
services, music tutoring and instrument purchase for the
talented students he encounters every day. Of utmost significance
has been the tremendous parent and student participation
in the Cafe 46 events at the school. This year’s performance
was sold out at over 400 people in attendance!
Parent/Community
Involvement: Mr. Parker and the teachers from the art department
are responsible for the Project Arts performances for the
school year. Each year, the event raises funds for the school
music and art department and exposes the new and young musicians
and artists to the community. The event of February 16th,
2005 was sold out to over 400 people in attendance. Cafe
46 has produced incredible parent and community participation
for the school. Mr. Parker has been the major driving force
for the activities.
