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JULY 2005

Making History Honoring
Outstanding Teachers in New York City

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein & Honoree Ben Sherman
CUNY Vice-Chancellor Jay Hershenson

The Department of Education, as the Board of Education is now known, is over 100 years old. During that time, the pendulum has swung from centralization to decentralization and back, from teaching reading via phonics to the whole language approach and now back to phonics again, from bilingual education to immersion and back. Reform movements have abounded, thrived and died. Underlying all the rhetoric, the steadfast image of the teacher has remained undiminished. And the preparation of fine, solid educators has been the cornerstone of our children’s success. Yet, no one has ever celebrated or honored outstanding teachers until Education Update decided to do so. Recommended by principals, superintendents and colleagues, 46 teachers appeared throughout the year in the pages of the award-winning monthly culminating in a ceremony at the Cornell Club on June 28th, the last day of school.

David Bauer, Hunter HS, Intel winner & Michael Vishnevetsky, Midwood HS, Nobel essay winner
Honoree Mark Finkle, Dairon Amaya, Zenymarie Colazzo, Alba Cuevas
with Principal Elba Lopez from
PS 33 Bronx
Dr. Manuel Zevallos &
Dr. Sandra Ruiz

Teachers were proudly accompanied by their supervisors and family members. All five boroughs were represented across all grade levels. Dr. Pola Rosen, founder and publisher of Education Update, and a teacher, supervisor and college professor for many years, shared the fulfillment of her dream to honor these “wonderful teachers who serve as inspirations and guides to knowledge, remembered forever by the young people whose lives they’ve touched.” Vice Chancellor of The City University of New York, Jay Hershenson, placed a ribboned gold medal over the heads of the teachers as they were called up to receive their certificates by the sponsors of the event.

Dr. Maritza Macdonald &
Carolyn Everett, Everett Foundation
Dr. Pola Rosen, David Bauer & Vice Chancellor Jay Hershenson
Dr. Selma Botman, Vice Chancellor Jay Hershenson, Honoree Durojaye Akindutire, Dean Alfred Posamentier

Education Update is grateful to the following sponsors who made the event possible: Barnes & Noble; Con Edison, Marie Cutrone Smith, Director of Strategic Giving; Council of Supervisors and Administrators, Jill Levy, President; The Everett Foundation, Edith Everett, President, Carolyn Everett, VP; Lindamood-Bell, New York Learning Center, Liz Craynon, Clinic Director; McGraw-Hill, Dr. Charlotte K. Frank, Sr. VP; Scholastic Education, Francie Alexander, Sr. VP & Chief Academic Officer; Laurie Tisch Sussman, Founder, Center for the Arts & Children’s Museum of Manhattan; Regent, Dr. Merryl Tisch, NYS Board of Regents; Stephen Wertheimer, M.D.

Dean Alfred Posamentier, Dr. Selma Botman,
Rebecca Saladis, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson &
Senior VP Scholastic Education Francie Alexander
Dr. Selma Botman, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson,
Angelita Untalan, Dean Alfred Posamentier

In addition, honorees received gifts and passes from the American Museum of Natural History, Learning Matters, New York Aquarium, New York Botanical Garden, and gift certificates for school libraries from Barnes & Noble.

Vice-Chancellor Hershenson gave welcoming remarks. “More than 60 percent of CUNY’s first-time freshmen come from New York City’s public schools. So CUNY’s successes are really an indication of success in the K-12 sector. And for that, we have Chancellor Joel Klein and the dedicated teachers of our City to thank.

Dr. Rob Wertheimer,
Adam Sugerman, Dr. Pola Rosen & Dr. Herman Rosen
Natalie Andersen & President Carolyn Williams
PS33 students with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein

A key to that partnership is our work to prepare students for college. Through a program run through CUNY and the Department of Education, called College Now, students can take college-credit courses and develop their academic skills while still in high school. College Now has grown dramatically in the last few years, and today more than 37,000 students are enrolled in more than 200 high schools around the city.” The keynote address was delivered by Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein.

Dr. Selma Botman, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson, Deborah Brandt-Blanc, Principal Joan Washington
Dr. Selma Botman, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson, Laura Bertolotti,
& Dr. Merryl Kafka
Dr. Selma Botman, Vice-Chancellor Hershenson, Thomas Porton, and Adam Sugerman

One of the high points of the program was a series of musical performances from three students of PS 33, Dairon Amaya, Alba Cuevas, and Zenymarie Colazzo, under the direction of honoree Mark Finkle. The young, talented singers were met with standing ovations as they sang heartfelt renditions of popular songs and musicals including Mariah Carey’s Hero and The Lion King.

Rosen recalled the words of teacher Christa McAuliffe who died on the doomed space shuttle Challenger, “I touch the future; I teach.”

Teachers of the Year 2005
Durojaye Akindutire, Marcia Arcentales, Maria Barry, Laura Bertolotti, Myrtha Borges, Deborah Brandt-Blanc, Judith Caputo, Yolanda Cartegena, Cynthia Cashman, Shantay Danzy, Marlene DaSilva-Hinds, Sharon Davis, Linda Dominguez, Mark Finkle, Evelyn Fortis, Della Furiano, Beverly Gammon Hill, Elizabeth Geli, Serena Goldberg, Dawn Haskin, Teresa Kutza, Cheryl Lee, Christine Linton, Malcolm McDowell, Robert McDuffie, Melissa Meehan, Evangeline Mercado, Frances E. Meyers, Maureen Murphy, Iris Nazario, Frances Nosal, Robinson Ortiz, Richard Parker, Thomas Porton, Marisol Rivera, Olga Rosa, Rebecca Rufo, Rebecca Saladis, Ben Sherman, Michele Smyth, Claudia Teti, Gloria Torres, Ken Tudor, Angelita Unalan, Pat Wallace, Michael Wotypka.

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