RIC celebration

My Aunt Beverly

President Carriuolo, Dr. Sidorkin, and RI History of RI

Wow what a busy two weeks it has been! Let me begin with a very special evening.  Last Tuesday night I was invited to RIC to speak to a group of pre-service teachers and to celebrate my accomplishments. It was so good to be back at my old stomping grounds--the very place I started this amazing journey.  In my years at RIC I had many great teachers but one teacher has been a true life changer, Paul Tiskus.  He pushed me to be the very best I could be and instilled in me the work ethic, determination, and critical thinking skills that are so important in my teaching.  President Nancy Carriuolo was so gracious to invite my family and friends to celebrate and the dean of education Sasha Sidorkin was also very hospitable. Colleagues and family celebrated the night with me.  This was a memorable night and I am lucky to have been invited.

Saturday night my husband, daughter, and I attended a fundraiser celebrating the 40th anniversary of the DaVinci Center. The DaVinci center located in Providence is a neighborhood, multi-purpose, social agency servicing all ages in the North End.  They have many programs including: dropout prevention, GED classes, CCRI credit classes, CNA classes, and many more.  The president and founder John Deluca is a true inspiration working relentlessly with youth in the community. My husband is a product of this center and is a true success story now the Chief Accounting Officer at State Street Global Bank--just a kid from Charles street. The keynote speaker was Mr. Ray DiPasquale, President of CCRI. He pointed out that of all current 9th grade students only 70/100 will graduate from a four year college.  He applauded community centers as a gateway for teens and adults to earn a college degree.

Chris Waters and John DeLuca

Mackenzie and Chris Waters

Coming up:
Tonight I had an interview with Providence Business News so look out for that.
On November 6th I will speak to the Adult Basic Education class at Bristol Community College in Attleboro.

DR. Deasy--inspirational leader

Today I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to hear Dr. Deasy speak.  Dr Deasy is the superintendent of the second largest school district in the country, LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District.) He leads thousands of teachers, administrators and staff serving a diverse population of more than 980,000 students from newborn to age 24.  He faces problems that I could not even dream up.  He works relentlessly to ensure that ALL youth is given an equal opportunity to succeed.  He deals with a population of youth where 80% live in poverty and 30,000 are homeless.  The graduation rate is only 64% up from 48% last year.  The students collectively speak 107 languages. He wants these students to be able to live the American dream--have somewhere to live and a decent pay after graduation.  I was very inspired by Dr Deasy's work.  Whether in LAUSD or Providence RI, our goal is the same--prepare students for post secondary education or the work force.  To be part of this mission you must have an ALL kid agenda not a SOME kid agenda.  Cheers to Dr. Deasy and his amazing work!

Here's to Brighter Futures for RI Children

 Today I was a guest speaker at the 8th annual Brighter Futures Award Ceremony honoring Commissioner Deborah Gist hosted by Family Service of RI.  This was my first speech since being honored RI Teacher of the Year.  The topic given to me was "excellence in the classroom". I owe a lot to several colleagues for helping me craft an excellent speech. Thank you John Butler, Pat Hawkridge, Shayna Fox, and Carrie Appel.
Everyone at the luncheon was extremely friendly and made me feel so comfortable. Stephen Hug, Senior Vice President at Family Service of RI did a great job keeping me informed and was so thankful. I sat with Patrice Wood who is a charming, beautiful, and graceful women she was so warm and it is evident she truly cares about education and children of RI. She could tell I was so nervous and she suggested I get on stage and "feel it out" which helped me immensely.  I also sat with Betsy Shimberg who calmed my nerves and was delightful company.  I was so nervous about today but when I got on stage surprisingly I really enjoyed speaking especially about a topic that is so meaningful to me--excellence in the classroom. It was so endearing to see so many people that are truly vested in RI children having access to a brighter future. Today I conquered the fear of public speaking to more than 500 people and look forward to the next challenge.  On October 16th I will be speaking to pre-service teachers at RIC followed by a reception. Stay tuned.....

 I will post pictures when they become available.

http://familyserviceri.org

RI 2013 Teacher of the Year: Two Weeks Later

Wow! I cant believe it has been almost two weeks since I was named 2013 RI Teacher of the Year. On Wednesday September 19th my life forever changed.  However, the long road that led to that night is where the real victory lies (stay tuned for the whole story).  Lets go back to that night for a moment. I remember being on stage overwhelmed with emotions.  I was humbled and proud at the same time.  Humbled because I know that there are hundreds of teachers that could be standing in that same spot. Hundreds of teachers who dedicate their lives to educate the students of RI.  Teachers who are relentless and who make a real difference. Proud because I came so close so many times to being just part of a statistic that plagues this country -- a high school dropout.  Since that night I have been overwhelmed with people supporting and congratulating me.  I feel blessed to have such amazing people in my life.  Yesterday I received a letter from a complete stranger.  While reading the letter I burst into tears.  You see the letter was from a women who let fear get in the way of her dreams.  I cried because I have felt that fear many times and still feel it now. I will push fear to the back seat once again and do my best to represent Rhode Island's most precious commodity--teachers. Stay tuned.......