The Fund for the City of New York and the Alfred P. Sloan ... · The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is...
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The Fund for the City of New York and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation congratulate the winners of the 2012 Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics Celebrating Extraordinary Teaching in New York City Public High Schools The Fund for the City of New York was established by the Ford Foundation in 1968 with the mandate to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. For over three decades, in partnership with government agencies, nonprofit institutions and foundations, the Fund has developed and helped to implement innova- tions in policy, programs, practices and technology in order to advance the functioning of government and nonprofit organizations in New York City and beyond. www.fcny.org The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profit grant- making institution based in New York City. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors, the Foundation makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engi- neering, mathematics, and economic performance. www.sloan.org Neal Lutchme Singh Earth Science, Environmental Science, AP Environmental Science Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts LaGuardia High School for Music and Art is an art school. Science is a hard sell. In 2007, when Neal Singh joined the faculty, LaGuardia offered only one sec- tion of AP Environmental Science. Singh completely redesigned the curriculum, regularly bringing in conservationists, environmental lawyers, nutrition- ists, and other experts to speak on the environment and emphasizing the intersection of environmental science and social justice in issues like pollution and access to water. Singh’s methods have been nothing less than miraculous. Five years later, there are now six sections of AP Environmental Science with a waitlist to get in that is 200 students long. Says his assistant principal, “Neal is the epitome of what every science educator should be.” 2011 WINNERS Marissa Bellino High School for Environmental Studies Eliza M. Kuberska Hunter College High School Maria Cheryl R. Diangco Sheepshead Bay High School Jim Cocoros Stuyvesant High School Kate Belin Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School Margaret DeSimone Midwood High School Alia Jackson Curtis High School 2010 WINNERS Roy Arezzo & Ann M. Fraioli The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School Pauline Baratta Aviation High School Lisa M. Cover Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies Sabaa Zickria-Daly Queens High School of Teaching Patrick Honner Brooklyn Technical High School Kara Bristow Macdevitt International High School at Lafayette David Scheiman High School for Math, Science and Engineering at CCCNY Cameron H. Cassidy Geometry, Pre-Algebra, Robotics Gotham Professional Arts Academy At Gotham Professional Arts Academy, a small alterna- tive high school in Brooklyn, Cameron Cassidy uses a host of innovative approaches to introduce his students to complicated mathematical concepts. In algebra class, students learn to balance the sides of an equation by first working with actual scales. In robotics, students communicate with machines using the universal lan- guage of math. In geometry, a pioneering collaboration with the Whitney Museum encourages students to explore how mathematical concepts are expressed in art. Mr. Cassidy’s success with his students has made him the go-to coach at Gotham for new members of the math faculty. As one of his students attests, “He makes it easy to learn.” Naoual Eljastimi Chemistry, AP Chemistry Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences If you think chemistry is a dry subject, you’d do well to spend a day in Naoual Eljastimi’s Chemistry class. Lessons are brimming with visuals, hands-on demon- strations, and interactive assignments, a strategy de- signed to appeal both to high performing students and to those struggling with learning disabilities. “Students beg to be put into her class,” a class advisor admits. Ms. Eljastimi is a tireless advocate for bringing the love of science to the entire student body, founding the school’s Chemistry Bowl and Science Olympiad, and overseeing the student-produced “Science Corner “column in the school newspaper. “She’s a wizard,” says one student. “I was unsure what I wanted to study, but after Ms. Eljastimi’s class I know I want to study science.” Eyal Wallenberg College Math Prep, AP Microeconomics Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice Brooklyn’s Urban Assembly School of Law and Justice (SLJ) delivers a first-class education. Though half the students enter school reading below grade level, the vast majority graduate on time and go to college. This tradition of excellence is no better epitomized than by Eyal Wallenberg. In his class, the rote mastery of for- mulas has been abandoned in favor of a unique blend of collaborative problem-solving, critical thinking, and student-driven discovery. Wallenberg also created the school’s first course in microeconomics. As a col- league notes, “Based on SAT scores and demograph- ics, none of our students are predicted to pass the AP Microeconomics Exam. Last spring 21 of 22 passed it.” Those are numbers you don’t have to be a math teacher to love. Michelle Persaud Living Environment, Earth Science, Forensic Science, Bio-Med Tech, Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, Research Methods, Psychology Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers has over 2,000 students, many of whom travel more than two hours a day to get to school. “This is a tough student body, and it takes an especially talented teacher to fire student curiosity,” says one faculty member. A wellspring of innova- tion, Ms. Persaud is constantly crafting new courses to cap- ture student interest—Anatomy & Physiology, Biomedical Technology, Psychology, Forensic Science. “Her classes made me want to go to college to study science,” says a current junior. A teachers’ teacher, Ms. Persaud has spearheaded curriculum reform at Bergtraum, success- fully leading a schoolwide effort to rewrite syllabi across all areas of instruction. “Michelle is the most impressive teacher I have ever seen,” notes one colleague. Dave Griffin Chemistry, AP Chemistry Collegiate Institute for Math and Science In Dave Griffin’s chemistry class every day is a chemi- cal adventure. One day, Mr. Griffin is cooking pancakes, serving up breakfast to illustrate the difference between chemical and physical change. On another, students learn about the power of oxidation watching an M&M explode when dropped into a heated oxygen environ- ment. Unflappable, calm, and patient, Mr. Griffin’s easy style and imaginative lessons have struck a chord with his students. “His classes are magical,” one colleague raves. When he took over teaching AP Chemistry, he dropped the course’s pre-requisites, opening the course to anyone with an interest and desire to learn. That may mean lower test scores on average, but as far as Mr. Griffin is concerned, that’s a secondary consideration. Science is for everyone. C. Anthony Finney Living Environment, College Now Flushing International High School Flushing International High School is an English im- mersion school that serves recent immigrant families. Anthony Finney’s gift is merging first-class science instruction with a talent for using science to teach English, helping students master a new vocabulary through the lens of scientific discovery. Roots absorb. Stems transport. Flowers attract. Assignments are carried out in teams composed of students of different ethnicities—Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Ethiopian—re- quiring students to solve problems together in English. Finney’s a passionate advocate for science in the school, creating the school’s science club, initiating the school’s first science fair, and partnering with a local DNA lab in a project challenging students to become biological detectives. Says his principal, “His accomplishments have been extraordinary.” To learn more, visit www.fcny.org Photography by Sarah Shatz
Transcript of The Fund for the City of New York and the Alfred P. Sloan ... · The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is...
The Fund for the City of New York and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation congratulate the winners of the
2012 Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics
Celebrating Extraordinary Teaching in New York City Public High Schools
The Fund for the City of New York was established by the Ford Foundation in 1968 with the mandate to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. For over three decades, in partnership with government agencies, nonprofi t institutions and foundations, the Fund has developed and helped to implement innova-tions in policy, programs, practices and technology in order to advance the functioning of government and nonprofi t organizations in New York City and beyond. www.fcny.org
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profi t grant-making institution based in New York City. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Offi cer of General Motors, the Foundation makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engi-neering, mathematics, and economic performance. www.sloan.org
Neal Lutchme SinghEarth Science, Environmental Science, AP Environmental ScienceFiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts
LaGuardia High School for Music and Art is an art school. Science is a hard sell. In 2007, when Neal Singh joined the faculty, LaGuardia off ered only one sec-tion of AP Environmental Science. Singh completely redesigned the curriculum, regularly bringing in conservationists, environmental lawyers, nutrition-ists, and other experts to speak on the environment and emphasizing the intersection of environmental
science and social justice in issues like pollution and access to water. Singh’s methods have been nothing less than miraculous. Five years later, there are now six sections of AP Environmental Science with a waitlist to get in that is 200 students long. Says his assistant principal, “Neal is the epitome of what every science educator should be.”
2011 WINNERS
Marissa BellinoHigh School for Environmental Studies
Eliza M. KuberskaHunter College High School
Maria Cheryl R. DiangcoSheepshead Bay High School
Jim CocorosStuyvesant High School
Kate BelinFannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School
Margaret DeSimoneMidwood High School
Alia JacksonCurtis High School
2010 WINNERS
Roy Arezzo & Ann M. FraioliThe Urban Assembly New York Harbor School
Pauline BarattaAviation High School
Lisa M. CoverMorris Academy for Collaborative Studies
Sabaa Zickria-DalyQueens High School of Teaching
Patrick HonnerBrooklyn Technical High School
Kara Bristow MacdevittInternational High School at Lafayette
David ScheimanHigh School for Math, Science and Engineering at CCCNY
Cameron H. CassidyGeometry, Pre-Algebra, RoboticsGotham Professional Arts Academy
At Gotham Professional Arts Academy, a small alterna-tive high school in Brooklyn, Cameron Cassidy uses a host of innovative approaches to introduce his students to complicated mathematical concepts. In algebra class, students learn to balance the sides of an equation by fi rst working with actual scales. In robotics, students communicate with machines using the universal lan-guage of math. In geometry, a pioneering collaboration
with the Whitney Museum encourages students to explore how mathematical concepts are expressed in art. Mr. Cassidy’s success with his students has made him the go-to coach at Gotham for new members of the math faculty. As one of his students attests, “He makes it easy to learn.”
Naoual EljastimiChemistry, AP ChemistryLeon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences
If you think chemistry is a dry subject, you’d do well to spend a day in Naoual Eljastimi’s Chemistry class. Lessons are brimming with visuals, hands-on demon-strations, and interactive assignments, a strategy de-signed to appeal both to high performing students and to those struggling with learning disabilities. “Students beg to be put into her class,” a class advisor admits. Ms. Eljastimi is a tireless advocate for bringing the love of
science to the entire student body, founding the school’s Chemistry Bowl and Science Olympiad, and overseeing the student-produced “Science Corner “column in the school newspaper. “She’s a wizard,” says one student. “I was unsure what I wanted to study, but after Ms. Eljastimi’s class I know I want to study science.”
Eyal WallenbergCollege Math Prep, AP MicroeconomicsUrban Assembly School for Law and Justice
Brooklyn’s Urban Assembly School of Law and Justice (SLJ) delivers a fi rst-class education. Though half the students enter school reading below grade level, the vast majority graduate on time and go to college. This tradition of excellence is no better epitomized than by Eyal Wallenberg. In his class, the rote mastery of for-mulas has been abandoned in favor of a unique blend of collaborative problem-solving, critical thinking,
and student-driven discovery. Wallenberg also created the school’s fi rst course in microeconomics. As a col-league notes, “Based on SAT scores and demograph-ics, none of our students are predicted to pass the AP Microeconomics Exam. Last spring 21 of 22 passed it.” Those are numbers you don’t have to be a math teacher to love.
Michelle PersaudLiving Environment, Earth Science, Forensic Science, Bio-Med Tech, Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, Research Methods, PsychologyMurry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers
Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers has over 2,000 students, many of whom travel more than two hours a day to get to school. “This is a tough student body, and it takes an especially talented teacher to fi re student curiosity,” says one faculty member. A wellspring of innova-tion, Ms. Persaud is constantly crafting new courses to cap-ture student interest—Anatomy & Physiology, Biomedical
Technology, Psychology, Forensic Science. “Her classes made me want to go to college to study science,” says a current junior. A teachers’ teacher, Ms. Persaud has spearheaded curriculum reform at Bergtraum, success-fully leading a schoolwide eff ort to rewrite syllabi across all areas of instruction. “Michelle is the most impressive teacher I have ever seen,” notes one colleague.
Dave Griffi nChemistry, AP ChemistryCollegiate Institute for Math and Science
In Dave Griffi n’s chemistry class every day is a chemi-cal adventure. One day, Mr. Griffi n is cooking pancakes, serving up breakfast to illustrate the diff erence between chemical and physical change. On another, students learn about the power of oxidation watching an M&M explode when dropped into a heated oxygen environ-ment. Unfl appable, calm, and patient, Mr. Griffi n’s easy style and imaginative lessons have struck a chord with
his students. “His classes are magical,” one colleague raves. When he took over teaching AP Chemistry, he dropped the course’s pre-requisites, opening the course to anyone with an interest and desire to learn. That may mean lower test scores on average, but as far as Mr. Griffi n is concerned, that’s a secondary consideration. Science is for everyone.
C. Anthony FinneyLiving Environment, College NowFlushing International High School
Flushing International High School is an English im-mersion school that serves recent immigrant families. Anthony Finney’s gift is merging fi rst-class science instruction with a talent for using science to teach English, helping students master a new vocabulary through the lens of scientifi c discovery. Roots absorb. Stems transport. Flowers attract. Assignments are carried out in teams composed of students of diff erent
ethnicities—Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Ethiopian—re-quiring students to solve problems together in English. Finney’s a passionate advocate for science in the school, creating the school’s science club, initiating the school’s fi rst science fair, and partnering with a local DNA lab in a project challenging students to become biological detectives. Says his principal, “His accomplishments have been extraordinary.”
To learn more, visit www.fcny.org
Photography by Sarah Shatz
