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New Teachers Celebrated at MS 80 By HEATHER HADDON
"This is one of our largest successes," proudly said Principal Lovey Rivera during the breakfast celebration, which included "diplomas" for the graduates. "There are so many teachers here who are so dedicated." Other officials -- including Hermes Caraballo of the borough president's office and Gail Davis, the local instruction supervisor for MS 80 -- also expressed their gratitude. "I had an important meeting this morning, but I said 'I better go to that later,'" said Davis, who has worked in education for decades. "I think it's just as important to show my appreciation for your work." The workload for Teaching Fellows -- a city program that subsidizes participants' master degrees in teaching while they instruct in public schools -- is certainly not light. After a full day of teaching, Fellows spend their weekday nights, and some Saturdays, pouring over the books at area graduate schools. The accelerated certification process takes approximately two years and three summers to complete.
"It's helped me as much as the kids," said Nankivel, 29, who is clearly enthusiastic about her new profession. "From the first week, I knew if was something I wanted to do." Leigh Glockenberg, who is only 24, came to the Fellows soon after she completed her undergraduate training. "It's been great," said Glockenberg, who along with Nankivel, started a cheerleading and step dance program while at MS 80. Elaine Taylor, who lives near Bronx Community College, arrived at her certification through a more untraditional route. After six years as a paraprofessional working with emotionally disturbed children, she decided to become a full-time teacher. "I wouldn't leave this position for anything," Taylor said. "[Teaching is] just a natural instinct." Many of the graduates intend to stay at MS 80, and were excitingly talking about their plans for next year. Helen Williams is looking forward to cultivating science and botany projects with her students, while Nankivel wants to stay in literacy development. Taylor is so excited by the learning process that she plans to take additional coursework during the summer. "I just feel like my mind is expanding," she said. For MS 80 staff, seeing the Fellows grow into their roles has been rewarding. "This is a better place because of you," said David Kazansky, the school's United Federal of Teaching representative. Despite their hefty workload, most of the Fellows missed very few days while working at MS 80, according to Rivera. Dilecy Delmau, the parent's association president, has been inspired by the Fellows' work in the classrooms. "This has been an encouragement for me to go back to school," said Delmau, 31, who wants to study early childhood education in the fall.
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As the graduation season was heating up for area students, MS 80 recently took a
moment to hold a special commencement of its own -- for 11 of its teachers graduating
from masters programs. And while no official pomp and circumstance, there was plenty
of heartfelt appreciation for their work over the course of the year.
The Fellows program seeks to recruit individuals with diverse work experiences, which
doesn't necessarily include teaching. Brandi Nankivel, who is originally from California,
worked at a technology company and a hotel when she first got to New York. But
she's
fallen in love with teaching.
