[minti_dropcap style=”normal”]B[/minti_dropcap]ack in the ’80s, when Saturday Night Live was funny, Jon Lovitz did a skit called “Get to Know Me!” espousing how people (i.e. Steve Martin) benefited from knowing him. We believe the same is true of our 2019 Fellows and are, therefore, continuing a blog series throughout the summer to introduce you to many of our grant recipients.

Today, we meet Reid Daniels, teacher at Soddy Daisy High School in Soddy Daisy, TN. He plans to travel more than 5,500 miles across the United States to help students understand the structure of the New Deal and the continuing impact of the government’s intervention on behalf of the people.

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On Why He Designed This Fellowship

The students I teach represent a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, many of whom rarely even leave the county. Their ability to conceptualize the vastness of our country, and our country’s resources is very limited, making it difficult to grasp the scope and initiatives involved in the New Deal.

My students also demonstrate a great interest in the natural world around them. They are avid fishermen, hunters, hikers, boaters, photographers, and rock climbers. Academically, they have a great deal of interest in the sciences, construction, and art. All of these interests can be exemplified within the New Deal projects that I will be visiting on my fellowship.

Another tangential goal will be to show the students that during one of the worst times of economic and social struggle in the US, the country was able to construct a network of parks that is truly unique in the world.  This kind of unity is refreshing to think about especially in these seemingly divided times. I hope to demonstrate this to my students to give them hope about the US for the future.

The two key questions I will seek to answer through this fellowship and the student involvement afterwards are:

1. To what lengths were Americans willing to go in order to earn a living? And, what were the immediate impacts of the New Deal, and,
2. What are the long term consequences and benefits of the New Deal projects?

CCC workers working in front of the Wind Cave National Park Visitor Center

On His Itinerary

Vintage WPA National Park Poster

Over the course of 22 days and 11 states, I will pull my camper in order to give myself the best opportunity to experience the environment that the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers were living and working in. Destinations include:

• the St. Louis Arch
• Custer State Park and the dams built by the CCC
• Badlands National Park and the infrastructure built by the Works Progress Administration
• Wind Cave National Park‘s reservoir, water system and concrete stairs in the cave
• Mount Rushmore
• Devil’s Tower and the museum built by the CCC
• Grand Teton and the library built by WPA
• Yellowstone National Park and the terrain tended by the “Tree Army” of the CCC
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and,
• Fort Snelling

On Plans for His Students

Pinning his destinations on the  FFT Fellows map at our partner, Public Education Foundation – Chattanooga

My students will create their own virtual trips to our national parks and monuments developed during the New Deal.  To demonstrate the outcome of their projects, my students will create a digital video that will walk me through the trips that they have planned, and the locations that they will be visiting. This project will give my students, who have such limited experience with travel outside of the immediate area, the tools they need to create real trips instead of virtual trips.

The daily (short term) plans for student learning will include direct instruction on this project to include the documentation, visual as well as tangible (maps, books, additional artifacts I will find, etc.) of the locations I visit. I will largely focus this instruction on the living and working conditions at these locations for the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corp workers. The long term unit plan will demonstrate my fellowship takeaways, starting with President Hoover’s decision to not intervene, governmentally, in the Great Depression and will conclude with the start of World War II.

Lastly, I will set up an interactive booth at the local history day in which I can share my experiences with the community at large. I will be available to answer questions about my travels as well as share the stories that I have learned from the experts at the locations I have visited. I will work with my students to host a clean up day at a local New Deal park in order to give them a feel for what it is like to address global needs.

Closing Thoughts

My own family was greatly affected by the New Deal, as my family’s land was taken over in eminent domain in one of the first projects developed. The New Deal has been a constant topic in my family for the last 80 years. Even in what my family had to give up, they were able to appreciate the transformation within their community due to these projects. The sacrifices made by the families whose homes were taken over, and whose young men were sent off to work on these projects (and eventually off to World War II) are a significant part of the fabric of our nation. They tell of our national character in a way nothing else can. My intent with the fellowship is to add the stories of other families to my own to enhance my understanding of the magnitude of the New Deal. That will, of course translate into an enhancement of how I teach this time period in American History.

…not a drop to drink. That’s what Richard Lebowitz discovered on his Fund for Teachers fellowship last summer in Indonesia. For two weeks, he collaborated with Balinese municipalities, scholars, citizens and tourists to research the country’s inability to overcome its water shortage crisis. Richard’s inspiration came from observing water waste at The SEEALL Academy in Brooklyn, NY, where his students are now implementing sustainability practices as a result of his research.

“An environmental sustainability practice that my school fails to address is our overconsumption of freshwater,” said Richard. “Our sinks and water fountains often break, and excess water pours out of these faucets while they are not in use. They are eventually fixed, but only after wasting potable water. The school’s sinks and toilets are outdated and overconsume freshwater because they lack modern water saving technology, like reduced water volume sinks and toilets.  I am committed to transforming our school culture, first by transforming the way my students view their roles as environmental stewards within our school and community.”

The most effective way to do that, he decided, was to show students what happens when a community fails to advocate for its environment.

Throughout his fellowship, Richard witnessed and documented the implications of a freshwater shortage crisis:

• More than 60% of the country’s waterways have dried up;
• Densely populated areas along the coastline have lowered the water table level, causing saltwater to leach into aquifers;
• Agricultural runoff pollutes bodies of water; and,
• Tourism creates an increased demand for freshwater.

Back at school, Richard introduced students to the topic of Bali’s water crisis through his fellowship pictures, videos and interviews. Then the students got to work, proposing solutions to four primary challenges listed above. The process included creating visual representations of their solutions through a classroom model, as well as science fair tri-folds.

This project sparked further student activism around the school, including elimination of single-use plastics and a new recycling program.

“Before the fellowship, my professional obligation as a science teacher was to inspire students to develop a love for learning while aiding their growth and development,” said Richard. “Now, my job continues to be what it was plus to inspire students to become positive contributors to society, the community, and the world within areas of science such as environment conservation. I have an obligation to share my experiences with others. I am grateful that I was able to have this opportunity to learn.”

We’re proud to share Richard’s story in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Watch this blog and our social media sites this summer for more teachers’ odysseys in Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Maldives, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

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Richard is a middle school science teacher, sustainability coordinator, and science department chairperson in Brooklyn, New York. Currently, Richard is leading an effort that would bring recycling into his middle school. He spearheaded the construction of a greenhouse with a roof rainwater collection system. Next year, he plans to bring a reusable water bottle filtered refill station into his school. He is a Math for America Master Teacher and Greentree Foundation member.

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]B[/minti_dropcap]ack in the ’80s, when Saturday Night Live was funny, Jon Lovitz did a skit called “Get to Know Me!” espousing how the lives of people (i.e. Steve Martin) benefited from knowing him. We believe the same is true of our 2019 Fellows and are, therefore, beginning a blog series to introduce many of our grant recipients throughout the summer.

For our first installment, we introduce you to a Fellow whose fellowship ranks among the most unique we’ve funded in almost twenty years. Get to know Mick Posner of Conrad High School in West Hartford, CT.

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On why he designed this fellowship…

I am now in my 10th year of teaching American Sign Language (ASL), which was actually the first language I learned as a child because I was born deaf. As a faculty member of my high school’s World Languages department, I work with students in 9th through 12th grade. Students take my class to fulfill their World Language credit and to learn about the deaf community. More than 90% of my students have not been exposed to a sign language system until they take my class. I believe that students enjoy my class because they are being introduced to an entirely different culture that, in a sense, intertwined globally and for many of them, the challenge of communicating in different environments and situations is mutual.

Many people do not know that there are 200+ sign language systems around the world, each with their own grammar, vocabulary, influences and origins. Twice a year, my students complete a survey in order to share their feedback about my ASL classes. Consistently I receive the same inquiries — students have a strong interest in learning about unique deaf communities in other countries, particularly those shaped by linguistic and geographical barriers (such as the fact that deaf people in Cuba who are not allowed to drive and work full-time, among other government imposed restrictions.

(photo courtesy of Nunatsiaq News)

After conducting extensive research, I found very little exists regarding the Greenland Deaf Community (and deaf Inuits), thus leading me to the following learning experience that I wish to pursue: understanding how such an unique population survive in such a remote part of the world, despite their deafness, by becoming a student of Inuit Sign Language (ISL), which is the official sign language system of the Greenland Deaf Community. This fellowshipwill deepen students’ understanding of the human spirit’s resiliency and the importance of continuing learning and pursuing knowledge in sign language systems.

ISL is a dialect that is centralized around vocations (a large percentage of their vocabulary is focused on being able to communicate related to hunting and fishing) and survival skills.  It is a language based purely on livelihood and survival in a very remote section of the world and would be a strong evidence of sign language’s relevance to a community that depends so much on a particular dialect to survive. There’s not many other languages like this, particularly in the form of a sign language system.

Celebrating the news with Principal Julio Duarte (left) and Superintendent of Schools Tom Moore

From this FFT experience I will have my students actively involved in the creation of online resources regarding different deaf communities around the world. In this project, students will include locations of community, what makes them unique, how they interact with the rest of their community at large, and the identification of unique signs necessary for survival.

On learning he is a 2019 Fellow…

When I first found out I was an FFT Fellow, I was overcome with an extraordinary sense of relief. The grant was something I had worked diligently on for four months, stemming from an idea I had from over a year ago based on articles I read the previous summer — quickly, that feeling turned into so much joy. My students were really excited for me — after it was announced, I asked if I could have a few minutes to call my wife. My 5th period class (that was when it was announced) voiced their support and understanding.

The impact on students already exists — I received several congratulatory and well-wishes emails from parents who shared that their students came home and told them about the FFT award. Along with a few additional parents who contacted me via social media, some of my seniors shared that they wish they could stay in high school for another year so they could hear about the experience (of course, I will see if I can extend an invitation to them when the time comes.)

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Mick is the only member of his family who was deaf, yet his parents believed in having ASL as his first language, which he learned before English. You can learn more about his life experiences and his own family from the A&E documentary “Born this Way Presents: Deaf Out Loud.” He and his wife also own Posner Inclusion, a consulting firm that creates bridges between businesses and unique markets, such as the deaf population.

If you see an inordinate amount of people wearing blue or a puzzle piece lapel pin today, here’s why. Today is the 12th annual World Autism Awareness Day (#WWAD), established by Member States of the United Nations to raise awareness about people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) throughout the world. To show our support, Fund for Teachers proudly shares the work of Guin Geyer.

Autism was a relatively new diagnosis when Guin earned her special education degree, which meant she received little to no training on how to help students and their families living with the communication disorder. While the diagnosis continues to increase (1 in 59 children according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Guin found teacher development in the field remained non-existent. Not one teacher in her school district was trained on the spectrum.

“I intend to become the go-to professional in the state of Oklahoma to help colleagues find the best teaching methods for severe-profound student populations they teach,” wrote Guin in her Fund for Teachers proposal.

The Picture Exchange System facilitates communication through images

She started this quest with a $5,000 grant to attend the Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) conference in Indianapolis last summer. Considered the best practice for teaching those with autism disorders, TEACCH representatives taught Guin how to structure her classroom in ways that help students better understand their environment and achieve independence over time. She then returned home to Oklahoma City and created that classroom at Bridgestone Elementary.

“With extra funds from my Fund for Teachers grant, as well as some personal fundraising, I was able to set up a model classroom,” said Guin. “I submitted another grant to set up all areas of the school with a Picture Exchange System so that our non-vocal students have a way to communicate everywhere in the building.” In addition:

The new bubble tower employs sound, lights and movement to calm students’ anxiety.

• Students now have schedules that match their specific level and needs.
• Every student is now included with regular education peers in one aspect or another on a daily basis.
• She’s conducted several teacher professional development sessions across Oklahoma.
• The Facebook page she created for Oklahoma educators reaches more than 1,200 people, supporting collaboration and reducing burnout.

As a result of these innovations, Guin reports a 98% reduction in disruptive classroom behaviors. “Very rarely do we see any problems at all and it’s easy for us to resolve them at this point,” she says.

“By funding training for me, you changed the lives of multitudes of students with special needs,” said Guin. “You have given me the tools to help them be more successful in the general education environment and to be more included in society as a whole.”

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Emily Frake (Camino Nuevo Charter Academy #2 – Los Angeles) also chose to pursue learning that supports students on the Autism spectrum. Emily used her Fund for Teachers grant to attend The Autism Show, in Manchester, UK, and, afterwards, observed leading inclusion schools in London to better understand effective and meaningful implementation of inclusion on a school-wide level.

“My fellowship opened my eyes to a society that is more accepting and accessible for people with all sorts of disabilities,” she said. “With all the learning I’ve done, I’m hoping to help general educators know that teaching kids with disabilities is not scary or even as difficult as they think. I want them to feel empowered to take ownership of ALL students.”

A “bump in the road” connotes a temporary set back for most of us, but today’s Google Doodle explains how tactile paving changes the lives of visually impaired and also introduces web surfers to the man behind the advancement. Learning more about Japanese inventor Seiichi Miyake brought to mind the fascinate fellowship of Naima Hall, teacher of second- and third-graders at Educational Vision Services, P.S. 102, the world’s largest education program serving students who are blind and visually impaired from 5 to 21 years of age and eligible preschool children.

Touring the Galimard Parfumery 1747

Last summer, Naima used her FFT grant to explore the life of Louis Braille and investigate French-inspired multisensory, experiential learning opportunities that promote New York state’s Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) for blind and visually impaired students.

“The ECC addresses functional and compensatory skills needed to account for decreased opportunities to learn by observing others,” explained Naima. “Ultimately, this educational approach incorporates artifacts and experience to promote learning and equity for students with blindness and visual impairment. This experience helped me create learning about historical figures, culture and geographical regions by introducing commodities, cuisine and objects that benefit all learners.”

For example, Naima toured the world famous Galimard Parfumery 1747 and learned how to make individualized scents, an exercise she modified and duplicated with students. She met with the manager of the equally renown Savon de Marseille soap production facility, providing more inspiration for her ECC lessons. Perhaps most compelling, however, was her time spent with the curator of the Louis Braille Museum and spending time with Braille’s archived samples and inventions that continue to change the lives of the visually impaired.

“As a teacher for the blind and visually impaired, there is not a day that goes by that my students and I are not in proximity to the embossed system of writing Louis created during his life,” said Naima. “This fellowship was a career apex and reaffirmed my passion and sense of purpose within my own vocation. It is my joy to bring Louis’s story close to the hearts of my students so that they may face a challenging world with courage and grit.”

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Naima Hall is a teacher for the blind and visually impaired at Educational Vision Services, P.S. 102 in Brooklyn, NY. Previously she served as an educator in Saitama, Japan, working in conjunction with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She also served as an overseas field educator facilitating international service learning and sustainability projects in Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.

If one ever needs an excuse to have pie for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner, it’s today — March 14, 3.14, National Pi Day. (Also, Albert Einstein’s birthday and the day of Stephen Hawking’s death. Coincidence?)

Making the hike to Pythagoras’ Cave to see his school, known as the Semi-circle, in Samos, Greece

The mathematical constant that’s been around since the Babylonians figures prominently in math and physics calculations like the ones taught by Jennifer Lehner and Pam Guest at Platt High School in Meriden, CT. To make math more compelling to high needs students and extra-engaging to the school’s Mathletes Team, the teachers designed an FFT fellowship to explore historic sites pertinent to mathematics in Greece and Italy.

“Rather than just talk about Pythagoras’ theorem, we wanted to personally describe what Pythagoras’ cave looks and feels like,” said Jennifer. “Instead of just presenting the Fibonacci series, we wanted to share how we visited his birthplace and what significance he has to the local people. Our vision was to embed key elements of our two weeks into a virtual Greece and Italy math challenge students can navigate prior to graduation.”

Pam uses a clinometer at the Leaning Tower of Pisa to estimate its height using trigonometry

Beginning at the cave where Pythagoras taught the likes of Aristotle and Plato, Pam and Jennifer photographed and filmed ancient architecture in Athens and Delphi, creating media assets to support the math questions for students’ virtual challenge project. In the homeland of Galileo and Fibonacci, the teachers sought out memorials to math, including the Garden of Archimedes Mathematics Museum in Florence and the Museum of Mathematics in Rome.

“Our goal was to acquire as much knowledge as we could about the history of key math figures and concepts from the regions, as well as evidence of applications of math in historic and current times across a range of disciplinary areas,” said Pam.

Members of the afterschool “Mathletes” club are in the process of creating a rigorous SAT-level math questions associated with each site their teachers researched. In May, teammates will test and refine one another’s questions and decide what platform to use to share out their virtual math tour with a wider audience. Today, Jen has students on a field trip to Southern Connecticut State University’s Mathematical Puzzle Programs High School Challenge which, according to her, is another experience perfectly aligned with student goals established as a result of their fellowship last summer. The teaching team is also in planning discussions with an English teacher who covers Greek Mythology about a cross-disciplinary field trip with students back to Greece, hopefully next year, if approved.

“It was so impactful  to step foot on the same grounds of many famous mathematicians and to learn first hand from being there rather than out of a textbook,” said Jen. “I not only feel that this fellowship has improved my teaching, but it has also shaped me into a well-rounded person who can set a positive example for my students as to what it means to be a lifelong learner.”

Mathletes today at the Mathematical Puzzle Programs High School Challenge

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The display Jen & Pam created at Platt High School

Pam Guest is a high school mathematics teacher and school and district Restorative Practices teacher leader who also serves as an adviser for the Interact Club, co-adviser for the Mathletes team, and throws coach for the cross-town high school’s indoor and outdoor track teams. Previously a Senior Executive HR Director with Accenture, teaching fulfills her lifelong dream to help children learn to succeed. Now a seven-year teacher, she has been recognized as her school’s 2019 “Teacher of the Year.”

Jen Lehner is a high school math teacher, advisor for the Mathletes team, and coach of the girls tennis team. In addition to her B.S. in Mathematics, she earned her M.S. in Educational Technology from Central Connecticut State University.

Jen and Pam did an excellent job documenting their learning on their blog and Facebook.  And for some fun facts about Pi Day, check out this Forbes article.

[minti_dropcap style=”box”]W[/minti_dropcap]hen Heather Ely purchased the college text book for her first music history course, she eagerly flipped through looking for female composers — and found none. Almost ten years later when creating the curriculum for her music students at Lake Park Elementary in Bethany, OK, available resources highlighted the same male composers who dominated her own education. She wondered, “Are there truly this few women who influenced music composition worth noting?”

Anna Beer’s book Sounds and Sweet Airs: The Forgotten Women of Classical Music  provided a definitive answer and the basis for Heather’s Fund for Teachers fellowship. Last summer, she explored in five European countries the lives of women highlighted in Beer’s work to compare struggles with male counterparts and enrich students’ understanding of women’s compositional voices in four periods of music history.

“Beer recounts the sexism and frustrations that these women faced in the pursuit of their art and questions the impact of the loss of their legacies in our cultural heritage,” said Heather. “Gender determined so much of what the classical music world classifies as canonical, but Beer exposes the dangers of silencing these prolific voices in our society.”

Heather’s efforts to amplify their voices began in Venice with Baroque period, studying the life of composer Barbara Strozzi and her male contemporary, Antonio Vivaldi. A night train took her to Vienna and the Classical period, where she examined the legacy of Marianna Martines compared to Joseph Haydn. Leipzig, Germany, and the Romantic period presented opportunities to evaluate the relationship between piano prodigy, Clara Schumann, and her composer husband, Robert Schumann. Renegade musicians from the Impressionist and Modern periods came to life in Paris’ bohemian Ninth Arrondissement, artists such as Nadia and Lili Boulanger. Finally, the Women’s Suffragette movement in London provided the backdrop for Heather’s consideration how Elizabeth Maconchy and Benjamin Britten’s experiences differed, despite having the identical education.

This fall, music education for second-fifth graders has #balanceforbetter, the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day celebrated globally tomorrow, March 8. Specific changes Heather made post-fellowship include:

• Examination of a different musical period she researched per grade
• Researching what life was like for one male composer and one female composer during the musical period they study
• Listening to and analyzing  works of both male and female composers from the musical
  period being studied
• Exploring history trunks she created with artifacts from her fellowship, and,
• Publication of a book by fourth and fifth graders containing research of a male or female composer.

“This fellowship awakened a passion and thankfulness for the lives of all the women who came before me and fought for all the freedom and rights I enjoy today,” said Heather. “It also gave me a greater desire to share the narratives of people from all races and cultures. I know that this experience has changed my view of my abilities as both an educator and leader. I am more excited to take risks if it means better understanding and growth for my students and for me.”

Heather with her fourth grade music students

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Heather is an elementary music teacher in northwest Oklahoma City for Putnam City Schools. She has spent all four years of her teaching career at Lake Park Elementary, and currently serves on her school’s leadership team as the Specials Team Leader. Heather enjoys helping her students explore culture and history through music. You can see more images from her fellowship on Instagram @elys_musicalmusings2018,  where we found this image and accompanying description:

This year marks the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote in the U.K. The Museum of London chronicles the bravery of the women involved in this movement. One such women was composer Dr. Ethel Smyth. Ethel was very close with Emmeline Pankhurst, and in 1912, she was arrested for her militant efforts to get the vote. Ethel and many other women were sent to Holloway Prison for their actions. What happened next is just my favorite! Women in the prison yard began singing “The March of the Women” which was composed by Ethel. She heard them and from her cell began to conduct their voices with her toothbrush! What resilience and courage these woman had! Thankful that their efforts prevailed so that I might have the rights I have today!

Last night’s Oscars telecast inspired some awards of our own. Without further ado, we present a few of our 2018 Fellows who designed learning experiences around the performing arts…

Most Creative Use of Funds
Diana D’Emeraude | Canyon Vista Middle School – Austin

Rehearsing a script in a Shakespeare class with U.K. teachers

To make the most of her 42-day stay across the pond, Diana found hostels with private rooms and pet-sat in three different homes — including one that had two cats and four chickens. Saving money on accommodations meant she could apply her $5,000 grant toward participating in a Shakespeare training program for teachers at the Globe Theatre in London, and attending 15 plays, ten classes, six tours, a conference, and multiple museums. Her goal was to create curricular units for middle and high school language arts/theatre teachers that help students develop critical thinking skills in the classroom and beyond.

“Taking classes on teaching Shakespeare with U.K. teachers helped me compare notes on their schools, how they taught, learn engaging activities, learn about and teach the plays and more about the English language,” said Diana. “Attending an International Theatre Teacher Conference helped me learn how theatre is taught in other countries and ways to improve my teaching, and classes at the Globe Theatre helped me learn more, not only of Shakespeare’s plays but also of other works written in that era.”

With her new knowledge, Diana started a Shakespeare Club where students explore the Bard’s plays, his style of writing, the importance of his works, the era, and how to perform monologues, scenes and the plays.

Best Sequel
Warren Pemsler, Ari Hauben and Chris Busch | McKinley South End Academy – Boston

Chris with some political street art at The Graffik Museum

In 2007, this teaching team was awarded a Fund for Teachers grant to tour art museums, theatres, stages and facilities in England, and then meet with outreach departments at museums in the Netherlands, to expand on their school’s partnerships with the Huntington Theatre and Institute of Contemporary Art. Eleven years later, these same teachers returned to London on their second FFT fellowship to explore London’s street art, contemporary art, and theatre communities to develop in-depth performing and visual arts units in collaboration with Boston Public School’s pilot Fab Lab.

Warren would like to thank his colleagues for their learning:

“Honestly, it was the collaboration with my colleagues that brought out new energy and ideas. By immersing ourselves in the content we teach and meeting with professionals who do similar things in London, we have planned new avenues to make our curriculum more vital to our students. After 28 years of teaching, I feel like I am embarking on a journey that will sustain me professionally and personally for years to come! I couldn’t be more thankful!”

This teaching team is working with students to create four large murals of the artists and playwrights they read and admire on exterior walls of the school building. This will lead to four “openings” for the school and neighborhood, as well as T-shirts so students can show off their work to the wider world.

Best Supporting Teacher
Christine Jamerson | Roseburg High School, Rosburg, OR

Onstage at Radio City Music Hall

Christine designed her fellowship around information she learned from a previous workshop with Eric Jensen called “Teaching with Poverty in Mind.” There, she learned that the working memory of students who experience poverty is very limited. As a drama teacher, Christine knew how memorizing lines and stage directions helps build one’s working memory, in addition to self-efficacy and self-confidence. Therefore, she participated in the Broadway Teachers Workshop in New York City and learned strategies for using theatre to support brain and soft-skill development.

“I learned so much about technical design, directing, and running a smooth program in the few short days I was at the workshop, it just blows me away.” said Christine. “I feel like my world has been opened up to different approaches I can take with my plays and musicals, and it all benefits my program. I have also gained a lot of confidence – I’m not only bringing new approaches, but I’m implementing them well.”

In order to reach the largest number of students possible, Christine and her theatre department formed an improv troupe open to all. They perform at assemblies, football game halftimes, and local middle schools.

Best Transformation
John Matthiessen | Branford High School – Branford, CT

John arrived at the Globe Theatre’s “Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance” workshop as a 58-year-old literature teacher and completed his fellowship as Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest. He explains:

“Our director told us he was going to cast us ‘against type,’ and consequently, I was cast as Ophelia. Playing a teenage girl was a stretch. To do this, I had to not only overcome a certain amount of self-consciousness and stage fright, but also try to imagine and portray the emotions experienced by this doomed young girl. I was very proud of my final performance!”

John’s English students now spend less time interpreting text and more time in creative activities to demonstrate their understanding. Although he still includes rigorous reading and writing activities, he now concludes some units with a final role-play presentation (like the one he did) as a major grade. He’s found this kind of active, student-centered assessment makes learning a more social activity alongside their peers than the typical summative assessments.

The BIG winners are the students, whose learning changes from text to technicolor after their teachers return from summer fellowships. In her Best Supporting Actress acceptance speech last night, Regina King called herself an example of “what it looks like when support and love is poured into someone.” We believe the students of our Fellows look (and feel) the same way.

Pictured above: David Williams (Bacon Academy – Colchester, CT) who attended the Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance course at the Globe Theatre in London to learn practical approaches for engaging students from a variety of backgrounds and academic levels.

Yeah, yeah, some of you took today off for President’s Day, but did you know that one of the men you’re celebrating is also recognized as our nation’s first engineer? That’s why in 1951 the National Society for Professional Engineers chose this as National Engineers Week to raise awareness of engineers’ positive contributions to quality of life. We’re taking the opportunity to raise awareness of a Fellow who teaches engineering to the students who will be making those positive contributions.

Last summer, Therese Block (STEM instructor at Lincoln Junior High in Skokie, IL) used her FFT grant to attend training at the National Robotics Engineering Center associated with the world-renowned Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute in Pittsburgh, PA. Her goal was to develop advanced design and programming skills for designing challenging competitions specific to middle school students. This fall, she did just that – expanding her plans to incorporate the rest of the township’s schools.

“With what I learned on my fellowship, I developed a competition for middle schoolers and have had two tournaments this year,” said Therese. “Our competition, which we named High Stack, has been a huge success and will continue to grow.  Seven schools and over 30 teams participated in the last competition and our school will host the district’s final tournament in March.”

In addition, Therese’s students will present their robots later this month at the Illinois Computing Teachers annual conference, where she will speak on starting a competitive middle school robotics program.

“Being able to learn from the experts in the field made me confident that my students will be learning skills at the highest level,” said Therese. “I learned a lot and was able to make my dream come true.”

Interested in starting a competitive robotics program at your school? Theresa graciously is sharing the manual she created here.

On Tuesday, we shared on article on our Facebook related to resources for helping students celebrate Chinese New Year. FFT Fellow Liz Kleinrock (also the 2018 Teaching Tolerance Award Winner) brought to our attention that many Asian countries celebrate Lunar New Year during this time period, not just China.

Indeed, from January to the middle of February, China, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and many Asian countries celebrate the Lunar New Year as national holidays. According to Voice of America, all celebrations have one common feature: family reunions. Many go back home to spend time with family, even if they live far away, and have New Year’s Eve dinner – the most important holiday dinner in China and many other Asian countries.

To clarify the broad scope of the holiday, Liz suggested using the picture book New Clothes for New Year’s Day  by Hyun-Joo Bae with younger students. “I think it could also be beneficial to use Lunar New Year as a lens to explore how different Asian countries celebrate (China, South Korea, Vietnam, etc.) including food, clothing, and traditions,” she said.

We chose to highlight some different countries that celebrate Lunar New Year by sharing images of our Fellows who designed fellowships to learn directly from those who live there. Enjoy the video above and this Year of the Pig!

A common misconception about Fund for Teachers fellowships has to do with their destinations. While many of Fellows choose to pursue learning abroad, the majority stay stateside. Furthermore, a fellowship’s “wow factor” has nothing to do with its funding potential or potential impact (i.e. repopulating coral in the Caribbean vs. taking a seminar in Seattle). Case in point: the fellowship of Cynde Ciesla, Erika Gilbert and Monica Fitzgerald who last summer attended the Model Schools Conference in Orlando, FL.

“The whole process of applying for our grant changed my professional and personal perspectives,” wrote Cynde. “Writing the grant brought my team members and me closer as we worked to write and revise the grant; the conference changed the way we look at our school and the relationships we have as teachers to our students and to each other.”

Last week, the team checked in to update us on their impact so far…

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As you may recall, our fellowship was to attend the Model Schools Conference in Orlando, Florida.  After four days at the most amazing educational conference, our heads were filled with so many things we wanted to implement!  We wrote an action plan and narrowed our focus to one specific area, Social-Emotional Learning. We wanted to purposely build relationships with our most vulnerable students.

 

After much conversation, we started a mentoring program for our kids.  Our program is very organic and our purpose is to foster positive relationships to increase attendance, decrease disciplinary issues, and boost performance.  We have a lot of evaluating and reflecting to do. Currently there are 12 staff members that are mentoring 27 students.

 

The most exciting take away from the Model Schools Conference has been the connections we made while there.  Those connections have helped us to continue our learning, which will continue to impact our students.

Many of the leaders at the International Center of Leadership in Education (ICLE) were quite impressed with our story – our desire and perseverance to get to their conference, and they truly treated us like “rockstars” while we were there.  Our connections with them have also grown! Since returning from the conference, we have been asked to write blogs as part of the Into the Classroom Series, including this piece titled Interactive Read-Alouds: Build Strong Student-Teacher Relationships.

 

We are going to Model Schools again in June and are currently working with the host, International Center for Leadership Education, to do a presentation that shares our experience and how we started our school’s mentoring program.

 

Being awarded our fellowship last year provided learning experiences beyond what we imagined. Most importantly, it transformed into student learning and building relationships with all students. We will be forever grateful for your support in our learning.

 

Warm Regards,
Cynde Ciesla, Erika Gilbert, and Monica Fitzgerald

This self-titled “Sparks of Change” team teaches at Gillette Road Middle School in Cicero, NY. Read more about their fellowship on their Facebook page Our Model Schools Conference Experience.

This week began with International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorating the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Fund for Teachers grant recipients often design fellowships around sites associated with the holocaust so their students can better understand the political climate contributing to the Nazi Party’s rise and the ensuing extermination of six million Jews. Last summer alone…

Before the Mémorial de la Shoah, Paris, which bears the names of the 75,000+ deportees

Jane Law (Harding Senior High – Saint Paul, MN) conducted an independent study tour of France, focusing on the French Resistance and deportation of Jews from France during World War II, to engage French 4/5 students in this period of history and help them establish parallels with current events.

“My personal perspective has been sharpened as regards present American political realities. The parallels with events 80 years ago are striking. Racism, homophobia, antisemitism– to name a few–are alive and well in our larger community. With our present political climate, for the first time in my teaching career I have actively encouraged students to protest, to get involved, and to take a stand.”

Shoes on the Danube Memorial in Budapest; Stumbling Stones in Berlin

Melissa Torrente and Christina Bernard (Nathan Hale-Ray Middle School, Moodus, CT) researched lesser known triumphs and tragedies associated with World War II in Eastern Europe to broaden students’ exposure beyond their “vanilla world” and provide primary sources that enrich National History Day research and projects.

“The information that we obtained from local tour guides was invaluable. I was able to make contacts with several local guides who are willing to communicate with our students and serve as contacts for our students’ research in the future. Additionally, I’ve stood at the Bridge of Spies; I’ve walked through Auschwitz. These are not experiences I could ever get from a book. I took hundreds of pictures which will be useful in the classroom to show as artifacts and to support instruction.”

Daniel Sawyer (Sultana High School – Hesperia, CA) examined remembrance and memorialization of the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War and the Holocaust by analyzing museums and memorials of the wars in Spain, Germany and Italy and using the information to create a project in which students research an event and design a museum or memorial.

“My knowledge grew immensely on my fellowship simply by visiting many of the sites that I teach about. Being there in person is a totally different experience from reading about it in books–some things are enormous in perspective, while other places are smaller and more confined. I got ideas for student projects that I wasn’t even thinking about beforehand, simply by absorbing the atmosphere and witnessing ways that locals taught about their history.”

Lastly, Kelly Lucot and Dena George (Park View Intermediate – Pasadena, TX) researched the Holocaust in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic to improve knowledge of this seminal event in human history and increase student awareness and learning.

“The grant has changed my perspective by literally putting things in perspective,” said Kelly. “When you study the holocaust you think about how hard or sad or tragic the events were but you don’t really feel it beyond the surface. Having walked through the camps [Kelly’s photo at Auschwitz above], seen the lives they left behind, and stood where they were judged and gassed, you can’t help but feel it deeper, to want your students to feel it. With this experience I think I can help them feel it deeply, to go beyond memorizing facts.”

At the Warsaw War Memorial honorinf those who liberated citizens from Nazi control

Elie Wiesel, Jewish writer, activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor said, “To forget a Holocaust is to kill twice.” We are grateful that students of these teachers (and 95 additional FFT Fellows who have pursued knowledge about the Holocaust since 2001) will #neverforget.

For a timeline of Hitler’s rise to power and eventual defeat, visit this Newsweek piece.

Tarah and Dan meet the individuals responsible for creating Chattanooga’s VW Akadmie

In addition to building Passats in its Chattanooga plant, Volkswagen builds a workforce through its onsite academy. That’s because job applicants arrive unprepared for technical careers, deficient in STEM skills and critical thinking capabilities. Daniel DeScalzo and Tarah Kemp also prepare a pipeline of qualified employees, they just happen to be doing it at nearby Dupont Elementary School.

“As we reflected on the impact of Volkswagen in our county, we grew curious about the influence of European branches of the company in educational communities abroad,” said Daniel. “We designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship to explore how assembly plants in Barcelona, Brussels, Ingolstadt and Wolfsburg, Germany, partner with schools to create an interdependency that produces gainfully-employed high school graduates.”

Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant

With help from Volkswagen’s senior vice president of human resources, the teachers researched real-world skills modeled in European plants and discovered that most of the employees on assembly lines were 17- or 18-year-olds who left work in nice cars and drove to comfortable homes. Technical and vocational training during primary school years positioned these students for careers and often fully-paid graduate degrees with the company.

Exposure to the inner-workings of the automobile plants helped Daniel and Tarah realize that the missing link between their students’ knowledge and future STEM professions was a deficiency in engineering design. In response, Tarah established a network among local business executives to increase students’ exposure to job opportunities close to home. She also pitched an idea to Public Education Foundation’s Teacherpreneur program to obtain funding for a 3-5 year initiative that promotes hands-on, project-based learning through a culinary unit. Daniel applied funds saved from the FFT grant toward the purchase of robotic kits and invited mechanical engineers from a local pump manufacturer to partner with students on prototypes.

“If you ask our students about career goals, they would list being a YouTube personality, sports star, video gamer or fashion designer,” said Daniel. “Through exposure to industry opportunities and engineers, we want students to say, ‘I want to make things, design things, do this for a living.’ We want them to know there’s so much opportunity out there and empower them to make a life for themselves and the world awaiting them.”

(pictured above touring Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant, the largest automotive factory in Europe.)

Students wielding knives at North Haven High School are par for the course – Traci Planinshek‘s Culinary Arts course. She teaches food preparation and presentation skills to her Family and Consumer Sciences students and envisions them as future members of the local workforce, supporting a community’s economy, ancestral traditions and personal nutrition. This trifecta of impact materialized in the form of an FFT fellowship focused on F.L.O.S.S.

Two years ago Traci planted a small school garden to support a curriculum promoting fresh, local, organic, seasonable and sustainable food (FLOSS). Student engagement increased as they experimented with produce, herbs and spices associated with the area’s first inhabitants, the Quinnipac tribe. Inspired to take the learning one step further, Traci used a Fund for Teachers grant to explore historic culinary movements of the Pacific Northwest, including contributions of indigenous people in that region.

Traci worked alongside chefs at Tillicum Village, an island off of Seattle promoting British Columbia tribes, and visited organic dairies and gardens on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound. From the lock system supporting salmon migration to fishmongers of Pike Market and food trucks in Occidental Park, Traci observed the farm-to-table movement in action. All of these experiences harvested hands-on learning for her students, who produced a community-wide luncheon in collaboration with surrounding farms and vegetables from the school garden. Funds raised from the event supported five students’ participation in Disney’s “Cook Around World” contest in Orlando, FL.

A student harvesting for the community luncheon

“On field trips to farms around North Haven, students negotiated the purchase of produce while witnessing the passion for what is, for many owners, decades of a family business,” said Traci. “Teenagers took responsibility for their own learning and developed an awareness of the required work ethic for this local citizenry.”

Even if students choose to pursue careers outside the food industry, Traci feels confident in their futures. She embeds literacy, numeracy skills, science – and now history and culture – into every lesson, giving students opportunities to develop critical thinking skills and cooperative learning capabilities sought out by employers.

“Having the financial support to follow something that I’m so passionate about was beyond words,” said Traci. “I feel that many times teachers are not validated, but this grant changed that for me and now I incorporate that energy into the daily curriculum — passing on that spirit and learning on to my students.”

Traci’s students competing at Disney World

This annual look back represents what can happen when teachers chart their course to keep content relevant and students engaged. We hope they inspire you to dream big about what 2019 could bring for you and your students!

For extra inspiration, enjoy these videos of our 2017 and 2016 FFT Fellows. To be part of next year’s recap, start your 2019 grant application today at fft.fundforteachers.org.

[minti_dropcap style=”normal”]T[/minti_dropcap]his week marked the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to proclaim the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being — regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Fund for Teachers is equally proud of the learning all of our grant recipients pursue because each fellowships represent a teacher’s initiative to bridge a gap in knowledge, be it theirs or their students’. That said, the activism of FFT Fellows always inspires, as you can see from our most recent fellowships focusing on Human Rights…[minti_divider style=”1″ icon=”” margin=”10px 0px 10px 0px”]

Jenny at one of Pinochet’s prison camps in Chile’s Atacama Desert

Jenny Quirindongo & Laura Bennett
University Heights High School & Mott Haven Village Prep. High School | Bronx, NY

Fellowship: Investigate how human rights violations compare in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to consider how people have attempted to reconcile atrocities and combat future violations to

“My learning aroused a range of emotions, from feeling both horrified and depressed, to inspired,” said Laura. “For me, what I will take away from this experience and teach in my classroom is empathy and empowerment. Empathy to want to make the world a better place and empowerment to do so. Young people need to feel they have a voice and can make a change. Once we lose that, and our spirit of activism, (and I hope it’s not too late) I feel we are only steps away from the unimaginable ourselves.”

Brian Peck & Zach McCullough II
Osborne High School & Mumford High School | Detroit

Fellowship: Experience language and cultural immersion within a Honduran Garifuna village to improve personal understanding of this unique Afro-Latino community fighting for ancestral lands and produce a novel with accompanying digital curriculum for novice Spanish students about the African diaspora in Latin America, human rights and Honduras’ current crisis.

“Our goal was to capture stories of young Garifuna people who can help our students understand the history of this dynamic Afro-latino community.  I joined a Witness for Peace walk for a human rights delegation across Honduras (pictured below) and interviewed people at Arcoiris, an LGBT organization in Tegucigalpa that has faced unfathomable repression since 2009 after a military coup usurped the democratically elected president.

Prior to this trip I didn’t comprehend the magnitude of indigenous people’s history in Honduras and the degree to which they must struggle for their rights and land. I think I will always keep the essential question of how indigenous people are impacted by policies as a foreground of any inquiry in my classroom. Whether we are speaking of foreign policy or immigration, my students and I need to know how to research and understand indigenous history and present-day narratives.”

Brian walks with a member of the indigenous village Locomapa learning about loggers who are violently taking their land

Listening to first-hand accounts from Freedom Ridersat the Smithsonian

Meaghan McKinnon & Christina Caceres
Harvey Elementary | Kenosha, WI

Fellowship: Visit civil and human rights museums and meet with grassroots organizers in Atlanta and Washington DC to explore historical changemakers and connect this learning with the federal government’s structure to identify how individuals can make a difference in order to cultivate a change mindset among students.

Erin Houlihan
Sunset Ridge School | East Hartford CT

Fellowship: Study current and past human rights issues by traveling to landmarks/sites in Belgium and the Netherlands, including the European Commission, Humanity House, and Anne Frank House. This will broaden my understanding of human rights issues in order to enhance my teaching at an International Baccalaureate school that focuses on global perspectives.

“The Holocaust and human rights are topics that I was already passionate about, but now I have new knowledge, understanding, and a renewed energy to address these topics in my classroom. Students will benefit because they will be able to hear my first-hand experiences and see my photos of the Anne Frank House, concentration camp, and a variety of museums. I am also bringing personal accounts and texts back to my classroom that will enhance my lessons and make learning more relevant and authentic.”

At the Grand Mosque in Paris, which provided refuge for Jews during World War II

Lisa Trebtoske, Byron High School | Byron MI

Fellowship: Study multiculturalism in Western Europe and the methods used by human rights organizations, museums, and educational institutions to promote tolerance to develop a school-wide social justice curriculum focused on global awareness and student advocacy.

“This experience afforded me a magnifying glass to peer into the stories of individuals who are affected by a fear of multiculturalism, from Anne Frank to Ammar from Paris. Each story, each artifact, was a lesson on what it means to be human. After talking with Lore Gablier from the European Cultural Foundation, I have decided to emulate her project, Idea Camp, with my English 12 students. I am going to create a senior exit project based around student advocacy. Idea Camp is a project in which participants from across Europe may submit proposals that will affect their communities. Similarly, I will use the methods she suggested to implement a student advocacy project instead of traditional curriculum.”

Motivated by Margret Atkinson‘s two FFT fellowships focused on advocacy, her students started an enterprise to educate, inspire and engage people in real-world change based on the United Nation’s Declaration on Human Rights. Watch their recent interview on local television and support them and human rights by purchasing items from their Upstander Brand website.

(Top photo taken by Meghan McKinnon at the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.)

On Pearl Harbor Day, we remember the 2,403 people killed in the surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. The “date which will live in infamy” launched America’s entry into World War II; the bombings also resulted in the internment of 7,000 Japanese American citizens in relocation centers by order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Teaching the complexities of this time is complex in and of itself for Tim Barry. His students at Nathan Hale Middle School in Coventry, CT, fall within a wide range of ability levels.

“This drastic range creates difficulty when choosing and providing engaging and appropriate text for students of all abilities,” explained Tim. “Fortunately, with the broad scope of our World War II unit, we are able to provide high interest and appropriately leveled options so that all students may contribute and draw connections to classroom discussion and produce work that they can be proud of.”

But that unit lacked dialogue about the domestic impact of the war. Tim designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship fill that gap and, last summer, examined life in and around Japanese Relocation Camps in Utah and Colorado to help students:

• Connect to the past and apply that knowledge to the current climate in the United States?
• Draw parallels between the treatment of Japanese Americans in the United States and Jewish (and other minority) people in Europe during WWII?
• Understand the Pyramid of Hate and how the act of dehumanization impacts individuals and large groups through self reflection and journaling, and
• Support other disciplines across the curriculum such as math (budgeting), social studies (constitutional questions), and science (geographic significance of camps and land features that made them ideal).

We are grateful that Tim shared his experiences and insights from his fellowship below.

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Last summer, I was fortunate to travel to Colorado and Utah to study Japanese Internment Camps as part of my Fund For Teachers fellowship.  My intention was to supplement our current World War II unit with experiences from the home front to allow students to draw parallels in today’s climate of cultural bias.  I want my students to draw inspiration my own curiosity and go out and explore the world.  I want them to challenge what they know or think they know and I want them to be acutely aware of how history has a tendency to repeat itself.

Granada Relocation Center memorial

Trip Details: I spent nine days traveling from the Topaz Camp in Delta, Utah to the Moab Isolation Center in Moab, Utah and finally to Granada Relocation Center (Amache) in Granada, Colorado.  In Delta, I was struck by the beautifully curated Topaz Museum which highlighted the blending of traditional Japanese culture with the easily recognizable American identity of the time.  High school yearbooks, recounts of baseball games, and a letterman’s jackets sat side-by-side with instruments of the Japanese tea ceremony and watercolor paintings.  Despite the dramatic civil rights violations perpetrated by the United States government, these proud people still created a sense of normalcy and everyday life.  The message of their resilience is one that I hope will resonate with my students.

Pictured with Mr. Kitajima and Dr. Clark

The highlight of my trip was being able to connect with Denver University at their biennial open house at the Amache site in Colorado.  There, I was introduced to Dr. Bonnie Clark who is the Project Director of the DU Amache Research Project.  I was able to meet several former internees of the camp, including 87 year old, Mr. Ken Kitajima who was a resident of the camp from ages 12-15.  My hope is that I can provide my students with a first hand account of what it was like to be of middle school age in a Relocation Camp.  I plan to connect with Mr. Kitajima virtually to conduct interviews and provide insight into his experience.  Perspective is one of the most important things I can offer to my students.

Middle school is a trying time and although the experiences of my students will be different than those of the past, the challenges will not be unique.  My hope is that my journey will foster a sense of intellectual curiosity as my students create their own world view and tackle the test of growing up in an increasingly demanding world.  The digital world in which we live in allows people to instantly access information and make snap decisions based on their own experiences and biases, yet we don’t often slow down to assess all sides of a story. Ultimately, I want my students to be willing to challenge what is accepted by society and greet people from all walks of life with an open mind.

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For more than a decade, Tim has empowered his students to take ownership over their education and to become independent learners while focusing on character and integrity. Throughout his teaching career, he has coached athletics at both the middle and high school levels and views the competition field as an extension of the classroom where students can push themselves.

Anne interviews a vocational educator in Zurich

Every teacher strives to prepare students for a productive future. For students with special needs, that future can look atypical. Fortunately, in New York City’s public education system, Anne Cortissoz is an atypical teacher.

Recognizing few opportunities for vocational education, especially for students with disabilities, Anne used a Fund for Teachers grant to attend the International Conference on Inclusion and Special Education in Zurich. Afterwards, she researched the Swiss Vocational Education and Training system and observed students in workplace environments. She heard success stories from world-renowned experts and witnessed students’ with multiple intelligences flourishing in post-secondary career options.

“In American society, people are justifiably sensitive to relegating students with disabilities to the vocational education track,” said Anne. “However, in Switzerland I researched apprenticeships and industries that took pride in their inclusion of students like mine. That country’s sustained high employment rate made me question whether families and students might choose that track if it were offered or encouraged.”

Back in the Bronx, Anne worked with guidance counselors to introduce vocational planning in ninth grade and sought out student internship opportunities with community mentors. Her math classes pivoted to provide project-based problem solving with relevant applications in fields such as construction, plumbing and graphic design.

Drawing on a model from Switzerland, Anne now teaches a “Virtual Enterprise” track that leads to technical certifications and diploma credentials. Students design business plans and develop products with the help of local businesses, which facilitate job shadowing, mock interviews and resume writing workshops.

“Greater real-world math applications through authentic learning opportunities now promote career readiness in my classes,” said Anne. “And, for the first time this year, students are participating in paid internships, for which they develop job descriptions and maintain time sheets. It’s been an extraordinary experience for them and a dream come true for me to see them ultimately head into the workforce.”

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Formerly a part of the telecommunications industry, Anne is now certified in both Mathematics and Special Education and utilizes a range of successful instructional, literacy and technology strategies, “real world” applications and differentiation techniques to foster critical thinking, higher order problem solving skills, and student growth.