| | NYC Teaching Fellows Award for Classroom Excellence
CHANCELLOR KLEIN CONGRATULATES WINNERS OF THE INAUGURAL TEACHING FELLOW AWARDS FOR CLASSROOM EXCELLENCE
June 4, 2008
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today applauded the classroom achievements of twenty New York City public school teachers who entered the profession through the Department of Education’s NYC Teaching Fellows alternative certification program. Six NYC Teaching Fellows, including one first-year teacher, were selected from more than 250 applications to receive the NYC Teaching Fellows Award for Classroom Excellence (ACE). The awards recognize teachers who were instrumental in raising student achievement and served important leadership roles in their schools. Fourteen finalists were also named.
“I am overjoyed to recognize the contributions of these talented teachers,” Chancellor Klein said. “Teaching Fellows work in some of our toughest schools and in subject areas like math or science where their expertise might qualify them for a much higher paying job. In the eight years since the program began, we have seen the qualifications of teachers in traditionally hard-to-staff schools dramatically improve thanks to Teaching Fellows like those we recognize today.”
More than 750 nominations and 250 applications for ACE honors were submitted. Applications included personal essays, letters of recommendation, and a resume. They were reviewed by a selection committee of NYC Teaching Fellows staff who narrowed the pool to 20 finalists. Each finalist was interviewed and observed in the classroom, and the six winners were selected by senior staff from the DOE, the New Teacher Project, and the Wachovia Foundation, which provided support for the ACE. The selection committee assessed the candidates based on their record of educational accomplishments, effect on student achievement, teaching vision, and contribution to the school community. The winners receive $2,500 and a $500 classroom grant, and the finalists receive $250.
The NYC Teaching Fellows program was created in 2000 to recruit talented non-traditional teaching candidates to work in the City’s hardest-to-staff schools and in high-need subject areas like math, science, and special education. Currently, 8,300 Teaching Fellows make up more than 11% of the total teaching force, including 16% of the teachers in the Bronx as well as 25% of all math and 20% of all special education teachers in the city. This is the fourth year the Wachovia Foundation has provided support for the NYC Teaching Fellows program.
Below is a list of the Teaching Fellow Award for Classroom Excellence winners:
Eric Ashton, earth science teacher at Marta Valle Secondary School (M509); Fellow since 2003
Eric Ashton was on track to receive a medical degree from Columbia University when he changed paths and became a NYC Teaching Fellow. Now in his fifth year of teaching and his second as an Earth Science and lead science teacher at the Marta Valle Secondary School in Manhattan, Ashton’s students regularly excel on the Earth Science Regents exam, far exceeding citywide average scores.
Sine Bayar, special education teacher at Bronx High School for the Visual Arts (X418); Fellow since 2003
As a special education teacher at the Bronx High School for the Visual Arts, Sine Bayar has realized gains in reading skills by as much as four grade levels with her students and has also been instrumental in helping students develop vocational skills and internship experience by creating COOP Teach, a vocational training program, and maintaining partnerships with a range of leading organizations.
Megan Cahill, English teacher at Bushwick Leaders’ High School for Academic Excellence (K556); Fellow since 2005
In her three years of teaching, Megan Cahill has received two UFT grants that allowed her English students at the Bushwick Leaders’ High School for Academic Excellence to teach memoir writing to sixth graders and to interview and write about cancer patients in local hospitals. Each year, she publishes an anthology of her students’ work and leads a daily double period for English Language Learners and special education students to help them perform well on the English Regents exam.
Ashley Hodge, special education teacher at PS 186X The Damrosch Day Treatment School; Fellow since 2006
A graduate of NYC public schools, Ashley Hodge is in her second year as a District 75 teacher and has already established herself as a leader at The Damrosch Day Treatment School. She has implemented a number of reading programs, including the Voyager Passport Reading Program, Wilson’s Foundations, and Achieve 3000, a differentiated instruction program.
Evan Weinberg, math and physics teacher at Herbert H Lehman High School (X405); Fellow since 2003
After graduating with an engineering degree from Tufts University, Evan Weinberg joined the faculty at Herbert H. Lehman High School, where he started the robotics teams and works with students to build robots for the FIRST Robotics Competition. In 2005, he initiated a successful AP physics program at Lehman, and in the first two years of his AP course, Weinberg saw 100 percent of his students receive college credit.
First-year winner:
Heather Lawrence, collaborative team teacher for math and science at Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation (X372); Fellow since 2007
When the principal of the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation selected the 20 top academic performers in his school, half of them were in Heather Lawrence’s class. A first-year teacher, Lawrence is already emerging as a leader in her school by serving on the school’s Data Inquiry team.
Below is a list of the Teaching Fellow Award for Classroom Excellence finalists:
Amy Basile, 10th – 12th grade math teacher at 02M294: Essex Street Academy; Fellow since 2003
Amy Basile left a career in finance at Goldman Sachs to become a Fellow. In her third year of teaching at Essex Academy (M294), she succeeded in moving her pre-algebra 10th graders from her first year at Essex through this their senior year, supporting them to pass math oral exams and meet graduation requirements in mathematics.
Eric Butterbaugh, 9th and 10th grade math teacher at M685: Bread & Roses Integrated Arts High School; Fellow since 2004
Last year, after Eric Butterbaugh looped with a 9th and 10th grade Math A class, 80 percent of his students passed the Math A Regents, doubling the school-wide average.
Francis Dsouza, 8th grade math teacher at I.S. 190; Fellow since 2003
Having left a 30 year career in the financial service industry to become a Teaching Fellow, Francis Dsouza is now in his fifth year of teaching mathematics and his third year at IS190, where he leads the math department that has raised by a significant percentage the number of students meeting or exceeding grade level proficiency in mathematics in the last two years.
Stephen Epstein, High school special education – art teacher at X721: Stephen McSweeney School; Fellow since 2003
In his sixth year of teaching and his fifth as an art teacher at Stephen D.McSweeney (X721) in District 75, Stephen Epstein has pioneered the use of Creative Maintenance Teams, which allows his students to work on year-long mural painting projects based at several community organizations in the Bronx.
Nse Etukudo, 11th grade digital electronics teacher at 11X455 – Harry S Truman High School; Fellow since 2003
In her fifth year of teaching mathematics at Truman High School in the Bronx, Nse has designed and implemented advanced coursework in engineering, calculus, and digital electronics, and leads an after school course in college-level pre-calculus so that students can attain college credit through College Now.
Cristina Jacobs, 9th and 10th grade math and science teacher at 09X227: Bronx Expeditionary Learning High School; Fellow since 2006
At the beginning of Cristina Jacobs’ first year as a teacher, she took on the responsibility of chairing the special education department, a position she still holds.
Christine Mastrantonio, 9th and 10th grade math teacher at 27Q475: Richmond Hill High School; Fellow since 2005
A third-year mathematics teacher in the special education department at Richmond Hill High School, Christine Mastrantonio, has been integral in moving students to collaborative team teaching and teaches a Saturday class for students needing an extra math credit.
Danielle May, 9th and 10th grade math teacher at M470: Louis D. Brandeis High School; Fellow since 2004
In her fourth year as a math teacher at Louis D. Brandeis High School, Danielle May’s course passing rates, Regents scores, and attendance records in her classes are amongst the highest in the school.
Yen Pham, 9th-12th grade special education - science teacher at M615: Chelsea High School; Fellow since 2004
Last year, Yen Pham won a grant for over $300,000 to fund the Model Transition Program at Chelsea High School. Pham’s school was one of 60 in New York State that received this grant to help students develop post-secondary success.
Rebekah Shoaf, 12th grade English teacher at M300: Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction; Fellow since 2003
In her fifth year of teaching, Rebekah Shoaf aggressively recruited students to enroll in her Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition course, implementing an open enrollment policy that got 70% of the entire senior class of her school to engage with the advanced curriculum.
Steven Sibol, 9th – 12th grade math teacher at K504: High School for Civil Rights; Fellow since 2003
After 14 years as a tax lawyer, Steven Sibol became a math teacher at the High School for Civil Rights where his students have routinely been successful on the Math Regents Exam over the last five years. Sibol has established himself as a city- and state-wide leader in math education as the editor and publisher of the Jefferson Math Project (jmap.org), a website widely used by his peers to download thousands of mathematics resources that Sibol and a partner created.
Binh Thai, 6th grade humanities teacher at M322: University Neighborhood Middle School; Fellow since 2000
During his eight years in the classroom, Binh Thai has dedicated himself to wherever students needed him, teaching subjects ranging from computer science and music to literacy and physical education in grades pre-K to eight. He is also an active leader for sixth grade teachers and the humanities team at M322.
First-year Finalists:
John Dodd, 6th grade ELA teacher at X162: Lola Rodriguez De Tio Junior High School; Fellow since 2007
In his first-year as a teacher at Lola Rodriguez De Tio Junior High School, John Dodd has been so successful at integrating differentiated instruction into his classroom that he has been asked to demonstrate lessons at weekly ELA professional development meetings.
Christina Gonzalez, High school science teacher at X670: Health Opportunities High School; Fellow since 2007
In her first year at Health Opportunities High School, Christina Gonzalez made the transition from lab assistant to science teacher and has found student improvement to be the greatest measure of her success. Her goal as a first year teacher is to get all of her students to pass the Science Regents Exam.
The NYC Teaching Fellows Award for Classroom Excellence is made possible by generous funding from The Wachovia Foundation.
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