dewey awards Archives

We Nominate Ms. Love for a Dewey Award! Compass Charter Schools has a knack for hiring great teachers. While we love all of the staff, teachers, and special tutors at Compass, we have a special place in our hearts for Ms. Kimberly Love.

We have known Ms. Love for five years now. Coco became her scholar five years ago when she was a timid first grader. She has Dyslexia and Asperger’s. Ms. Love is the perfect blend of kindness and unlimited patience. She always has suggestions for parents and learning coaches based on her many years of experience as an educator and her personal experience raising four beautiful daughters. When it was time for our daughter Birdie to attend school, we thought about public school, but with Coco at Compass and already having such a great rapport with Ms. Love, it seemed like a perfect fit to keep both girls at Compass. And when Coronavirus hit, we were so grateful that we did.

While public teachers were feeling overwhelmed, as they describe it, “like they were just treading water,” we had the benefit of all of Ms. Love’s years of experience in virtual education. Compass has not missed one day of instruction during the pandemic. Ms. Love has seamlessly seen us through the transition of a new education platform, Accelerate Education, and even finds time while coaching her own family at home to make special videos for us that helped us adapt to this change.

It is not easy during this pandemic, but I would describe our progress more as “soaring” than as “treading water.” I wish that every child and parent confronting Coronavirus and lockdown could have as rich and rewarding an experience as we have had at Compass. Ms. Love is a big part of that experience. It is both challenging and rewarding to be a parent and learning coach, but worth every moment. Compass even offers a course in parenting and coaching! And I received a lovely certificate! I can easily see why Ms. Love chose to teach for Compass. We’ve had coffee with the principal and many special field trips.

Birdie can’t wait for her in-person labs with Ms. Love. She loves all of the unique ways that Ms. Love creates to encourage scholars, like “clapping like you’re on a roller coaster” or “clapping like you’re popping bubbles.” She even has birthday days where scholars all wear hats and sing Happy Birthday. Birdie’s favorite is old-fashioned show and tell that is tied to the subject matter! And she loves when Ms. Love gives them time to “scribble on the ‘marker board’ before class.

Ms. Love thinks of anything and everything to create a sense of community. Her feedback on homework is nothing short of adorable. Our journey from a “shy” diagnosis to a diagnosis of Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Aspergers would not have been half as easy or nearly as pain-free for our shy little scholar if it had not been for Ms. Love. She created a safe online environment for her to participate and become acclimated with caring adults. Exceptional content can still be delivered to bright children with special needs by the right professional educators, using a suitable medium. Compass employs every medium and to the best benefit!

We are impressed with the technology chosen and the content of the various courses. We are also incredibly indebted to Ms. Love for referring our scholar, Coco, to testing for dyslexia, where she has been paired with the most wonderful teacher, Ms. Jen. Between Ms. Love, Ms. Jen, and now a fifth-grade addition of Ms. Eagelton and Ms. Grimes, we feel we have a “Compass Dream-Team” for our fifth grader! And we have not lost Ms. Love since she is still with our first-grader, Birdie, who will get to have her until she is in fifth grade. We love the way that Compass allows scholars to remain with one teacher, eliminating a period of “getting to know each other” every year. It provides more continuity of the program. And still, scholars are able to become acclimated to different types of teachers through various labs, tutoring sessions, and clubs during the week.

My husband is a Senior Programmer with Adobe, and I am a retired Literacy Consultant with three teaching credentials, so we recognize when someone is doing an excellent job. We call Ms. Love a “Master Teacher” for all of her superior organizational skills. We only wish that she could impart her wisdom to all public school teachers having such a tough time adapting to online learning during this current pandemic.

Ms. Love has excellent attention to detail, cares deeply about her families, and maintains weekly contact through various mediums flawlessly. She is so valuable to us, and her dedication needs to be shared. Our scholars love her! J.J. Lewis, Compass Superintendent & CEO, calls us the “Ms. Love’s Fan Club” when her families attend his virtual meetings. We have the same kind of fondness for Mr. Lewis. We can’t help complimenting good educators when we have them. It makes all the difference in the world that they so positively impact the lives of our children! The Andersons

Mrs. Blancato was my daughter’s teacher last year. She not only helped me as a Mom to know that my daughters’ vision was struggling, she also handled the COVID transition with the utmost organizational skills, as well as constantly be available to her scholars for them to be successful.

Not to mention, she also has 4 children that were needing her help as their Mother. She is always so professional. She talks to her scholars with respect and love. She encourages reading daily and somehow always got the scholars to do that. As a 3rd grade standard of multiplication, she was able to keep the kids interested and engaged even from the zoom meetings.

All her scholars have respect and love for her and are sad to leave her class, but she keeps them excited to continue on to 4th grade and helps make them successful!

Since 2017, Charter School Capital has held an annual essay contest celebrating exceptional teachers. We call it the Dewey Awards, in celebration of Mr. Richard Dewey – a teacher who provided exceptional mentorship to our founder and CEO Stuart Ellis. Every year we get a brilliant selection of stories written by students from charter schools all over the nation. This year’s winners are featured here. But each of these stories is worth sharing.

This week we bring you a story written by Ana Daley, about Mrs. Cook, of Carolina Charter Academy in Angier, North Carolina.

As an adult, I often think back on my time as a student and the teachers that have helped shape me into the adult that I am today. This has been especially true since I took a position as a school nurse at my children’s charter school (Carolina Charter Academy) this year. I now have the privilege of working side by side with some of the most amazing teachers and people that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I see how they pour themselves into these children, day after day. I see, firsthand, the time and energy they spend caring for these kiddos, acting as not only educators but helping provide a comfort zone for these children as well.

Way long ago, when I was in high school, in 1991, I had a drama teacher named Mrs. Cook. The thing I remember the most about her, was how accepting she was of all her students. We were a bunch of outcasts in the drama club. There were children that were just discovering their sexual orientation, kids that marched to their own unique beat, and just basic teen hormone problems. At the time, my parents had split up and were getting divorced. It was an extremely difficult time in my young life, but I knew at school, in drama, that I felt a peace and belonging.

I always felt welcome and accepted in Mrs. Cook’s class. When I felt the least confident and unsure of myself, she could see my potential. She encouraged me to go out for the lead in a play. She then cast me as the lead of this one-act play (Pink Lemonade for Tomorrow), my first ever performance. She directed me, encouraged me, helped me find my self-confidence and my voice at a time in my life when I was lacking all the confidence in myself to do anything worthy of praise. That confidence that she helped me build took that performance and our drama club to state that year. We lost, but we were one of the best in the state of Florida, all thanks to the guidance and direction of our wonderful Mrs. Cook.

For sure, Mrs. Cook is now retired, but I will forever be grateful for the strength she saw in me, when I was having a hard time seeing it myself. This brings me back to the school I am nursing at now. I see the strength and courage of these teachers, reaching out to make a connection with their students, even virtually, as a pandemic rages on all around us. I see them, much like Mrs. Cook, going that extra mile to not only educate, but make their students feel safe, validated, and seen.

Ana Daley, then and now.

Since 2017, Charter School Capital has held an annual essay contest celebrating exceptional teachers. We call it the Dewey Awards, in celebration of Mr. Richard Dewey – a teacher who provided exceptional mentorship to our founder and CEO Stuart Ellis. Every year we get a brilliant selection of stories written by students from charter schools all over the nation. This year’s winners are featured here. But each of these stories is worth sharing.

This week we bring you two stories, both honoring the same teacher: Mr. Adam Fleischer of Kihei Charter School. One was written by McKade Fasel and one by Felix Daniel Velasquez.

Sent by McKade Fasel

Mr. Adam is a High school humanities (ELA and Democracy) teacher. Mr. Adam has inspired me so much in life. He has inspired me to do my best in life. He has an extremely charismatic personality that just can’t be replicated by other teachers. All of my peers and I love him. He knows how to be serious and fun at the same time. If there is anybody you want to see happy it is him. He is so cool.

He was the first teacher in our entire school to use Discord. One of the reasons why he is so cool is because he gives us opportunities to do extra credit. Because of this, I have a 107 in his class which is an A+. This just proves that he wants to see us succeed. He changed who I am. Before being in his class, I used to have C+ and B-’s for grades. Now, I have 100s in ELA. This is because he makes the work super easy to pass. I am really thankful for how much effort he has put into us.

A few years ago, he used to work as an EA (educational assistant). An EA is someone who goes around making sure the teachers have a little bit of help when teaching the kids. EA’s have to love working with kids and Mr. Adam did that so well. EA’s usually do simple jobs like Recces monitor (interacting and engaging with the kids while they play). Mr. Adam Impressed those above him so well, they put him in the ranks of a teacher. Speaking of ranking, our school has a rather unofficial ranking system. It goes like this: EA, Teacher, Principal, and then at the very top is the Head of the school. The reason why we have a head of school above the Principal is because our school is a K-12 school. There are three divisions: Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8), and High (9-12). Even though it sounds big, Our school has about 1,500 students. That is to give you perspective on just how many teachers there are.

Sent by Felix Daniel Velasquez

In the beginning, this school proved to be a challenge, but I could not have gotten the opportunities to find my future without my teachers. In this unsuspecting, gnarling situation, these people helped me learn the aspects of how to process information and how to move on with life. I believe a multitude of teachers and educators have helped me during these times as my life could not have changed without their help. My teachers have opened the door of knowledge for subjects like current events, technological knowledge, coronavirus, and most importantly 21st-century skills.

At the beginning of the school year, my educators opened the gate for opportunities that are occurring in our generation. These opportunities are known as current events. I used current events in Humanities (Language Arts and History), and Biology. One instance of my knowledge of current events is the California Apple Fire that was raging in August. The fire has since been put out long ago, but at the time was a cause for concern. It was caused at a local gas station by a car engine and since then burned around 25,000 acres. This assignment was for Mr. Adam Fleischer. Another instance of current events being acknowledged was when I wrote the final essay for the book The Hate You Give. To sum it up, this book’s theme is based on police brutality and racism. Similar real-life instances like the George Floyd and Breanna Taylor incidents correlate with the theme in The Hate You Give, all involving police brutality and their actions not being held accountable towards them.

Our essay was to state our opinions on the book and how the main idea of the book relates to real-life instances. The final instance of this topic being displayed is the current event assignments/presentation for biology class. The current events were based on scientific studies or theories that were published in the year 2020. For example, one of my most recent current events was based on CRISPR, a gene-editing tool that is still in the works. It states how an engineer could make a faster, more efficient way of COVID testing. The engineer, Doudna, tested COVID-19 with SARS-CoV-2. The results were nearly identical at around 93% and reported a minuscule value of false positives. This assignment was for Mrs. Wilson. Therefore, these educators have changed my life by opening the door to current events that prepare me for what’s cooking in the outside world. Another topic that caught my attention was technical knowledge.

During this unprecedented time, many schools decided to go virtual rather than in-person education. Because of this, students across the nation would have to learn how to use computers and other devices associated with zoom conferencing and google classroom. Mr. Hazlet was essentially an aid support because he introduced multiple technological tools such as chrome extensions and PIXLR. He has also taught students that are new to zoom on how the video conferencing software operated. Since most of the work in the Kihei Charter is now on Google Classroom, the most important aspect my educators have taught my classmates and I was the mechanics of Google Classroom. I turn in a plethora of assignments using google classroom and especially my digital portfolio which was created on a site known as Weebly, where I also made an educational website based on the Scoville scale. Numerous other programs like Google Docs, Slides, Sheets and Jamboards were also important tools that came in handy when it comes to virtual assignments.

All things considered, educators from Kihei Charter School have changed my life because they have provided me with the assets necessary to learn during this dangerous time.

Today, one of the well-known events unfolding during this time is the coronavirus pandemic. When it all began, schools closed, businesses shut down and filed for bankruptcy and the unemployment rate reached an all-time high. The whole world entered a state of fear and paranoia. In biology class, we are talking about genetics which is now further simplified to the molecular structures essential to all life as we know it. During this outbreak, it is highly encouraged that you are educated about the coronavirus. Coronavirus mainly spreads through the air via airborne droplets as it binds to a receptor in your cells with a substance called DPP4 to release its RNA into your body’s cells. This then causes the cell to create more copies of the virus. Therefore, it is very important to stay safe at this time which also means to protect yourself from the virus by avoiding contact with those who are infected and to avoid large gatherings. Part of staying safe also includes staying healthy as my health teacher Coach Jerry assigned material via Acellus on how to stay healthy and fit and avoid drug abuse.

Mrs. Wilson has also assigned a multitude of assignments so we can understand this topic better such as the upcoming coronavirus project and current event assignments particularly focused on coronavirus. Taking everything into consideration, teachers I could trust from my school have changed my life by providing me with some information on the coronavirus and most importantly, how to stay safe. The most important aspect is 21st-century skills as there is a whole wide world full of possibilities and you can only expect the unexpected. To get us ready for what we will face in our long-term careers and goals are the 21st-century skills, the algorithm of Kihei Charter School.

These skills are essential to school and long term careers because it is most commonly referred to in careers like in the medical field. For instance, one skill requires a student to keep track of their learning needs and to have goals. This is important because the student would know to be prepared for the outside world. Another way I used the 21st-century skills will be in a plethora of projects such as the model congress bill project and the coronavirus project for biology.

These assignments also conform to Interpersonal skills as these projects require peer evaluation in order to move forward. For example, I have reviewed other student’s work samples with details such as being less vague on their topics. This comes to show you how important it is to have the ability to acknowledge and use 21st-century skills to your advantage. Taking everything into consideration, educators from my school have made it possible for me to adapt to this school because they provided the tools and practice for what’s kicking on my bucket list. I believe that teachers were important during this unprecedented time because they catered to my needs for the future. With the help of numerous educators at Kihei Charter School, my new knowledge had an impact on my daily life as a whole. For instance, because of the new technology being applied to the overall schoolwork, I have adapted and learned how to use technology to my advantage in this gnarling situation. This conforms to one of the 21st-century skills, Information Skills. Speaking of which, the educators have also provided the materials necessary for future development. An example of this would be the digital portfolio I used for a student-led conference. Based on the information provided by my educators, I have made a final decision on who helped me out the most to help me succeed and prepare for the future.

Taking everything into consideration, I believe Mr. Hazlet was the most helpful of all my educators because he provided the materials needed to not only do assignments virtually but to also help plan for my future by providing me with the basics to create a portfolio.

Since 2017, Charter School Capital has held an annual essay contest celebrating exceptional teachers. We call it the Dewey Awards, in celebration of Mr. Richard Dewey – a teacher who provided exceptional mentorship to our founder and CEO Stuart Ellis. Every year, we get a brilliant selection of stories written by students from charter schools all over the nation. This year’s winners are featured here. But each of these stories is worth sharing.

This week, we bring you a story written by Tara Zamani about Mrs. Krystal Dunn of Lahaina Intermediate School.

I never liked math and deep down believed I could never be good at this subject. I was always reluctant to take math classes. When I transferred to a new school in eighth grade, I was placed into the honors algebra class. I was very behind academically in algebra because I hadn’t taken pre-algebra the previous year. I was nervous but my biggest problem was that I had low self-esteem about my math skills. I requested the textbook my peers had completed the previous year from my teacher, Mrs. Dunn. I disciplined myself and with the help of my mom, I was able to complete the whole textbook within two weeks.

Mrs. Dunn was impressed with my work and started helping me grow. I quickly became fond of Mrs. Dunn’s kind soul and started spending most of my free time in her classroom. Mrs. Dunn would push me to try harder to succeed. I could feel that she believed in me.

Toward the end of the second quarter of school, Mrs. Dunn started a math club. For the first time, I was excited about doing math and taking it as an extracurricular activity. She had turned a class I dreaded, into a place I wanted to spend all my time in. Math club was difficult but as the president, I pushed myself to work hard. Through her math programs, I was able to surpass many of my classmates who I was struggling to keep up with at the beginning of the semester. I was even acknowledged as algebra student of the year at eighth-grade graduation.

Mrs. Dunn’s class showed me that I have the ability to work hard and dedicate myself to my academics. I am very fortunate to have had such a lovely teacher who believed in my abilities. I hope I can meet more people like her on my journey of life.

Tara Zamani

Since 2017, Charter School Capital has held an annual essay contest celebrating exceptional teachers. We call it the Dewey Awards, in celebration of Mr. Richard Dewey – a teacher who provided exceptional mentorship to our founder and CEO Stuart Ellis. Every year, we get a brilliant selection of stories written by students from charter schools all over the nation. This year’s winners are featured here. But each of these stories is worth sharing.

This week, we bring you a story written by Bevin Theodore, from The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts. The piece is about his teacher Mr. Marc Del Rossi, at Voorhees Middle School.

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It has been said that people fear public speaking more than death. Combine that fear with an introverted nature and a hearty dose of middle school awkwardness, and you get a clear picture of my eighth-grade self. I rarely even raised my hand in class, so I would have done anything to avoid standing in front of a room and expounding on a topic.

For years, I successfully stayed out of the spotlight, content to let my more gregarious peers command the podium. And then I walked into Marc Del Rossi’s language arts classroom. As he eagerly talked about the public speaking opportunities we would have in his course, I sank in my chair, hoping perhaps he would overlook me when doling out speech assignments.

I would love to say I became comfortable with public speaking that year. In actuality, it never got easier for me. Sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat, and shaking voice were the hallmarks of my speaking attempts. I was terrified, and I hated every minute of it. But as I moved through high school and college and ventured into the working world, I realized Mr. Del Rossi had planted a seed. I did not enjoy public speaking, but I could hear his words in the back of my mind any time I found myself in front of a room. I was acutely aware of my posture, the power of eye contact, and the importance of pausing to gather my thoughts to avoid peppering my speech with filler words.

As I recalled those lessons I was not prepared to learn at the age of 13, I gained confidence and found my voice. I started saying yes to opportunities to speak at work and in the community. The fear of public speaking never fully abates, but I have found ways to turn it into positive energy. More than 25 years after I left Mr. Del Rossi’s classroom, I am an active member of a local Toastmasters chapter, a true testament to the inspiration he shared in his classroom.

Since 2017, Charter School Capital has held an annual essay contest celebrating exceptional teachers. We call it the Dewey Awards, in celebration of Mr. Richard Dewey – a teacher who provided exceptional mentorship to our founder and CEO Stuart Ellis. Every year, we get a brilliant selection of stories written by students from charter schools all over the nation. This year’s winners are featured here. But each of these stories is worth sharing.

This week we bring you a story written by Devon Clausell, celebrating Mr. Clack and all the teachers of Genesee STEM Academy.

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The teacher that made a difference in my life was all of my teachers. They told me that I should always be one step ahead than everyone. They taught my class about life and school at the same time. Told us the hardships, work, college, and getting a job. They mentioned life is not a game it shouldn’t be played as one. They said we should follow our dreams make it realistically possible and don’t let anyone say “you can’t”, because we can.

Anything is possible when you put the work, time, and effort into it. Grind while you’re young so you can do whatever you want once you reach 30+. I believe them, they want us to peruse our goal regardless of what anyone thinks. It gives me the motivation to keep going, to keep moving forward no matter what.

All of my past teachers taught me a valuable lesson about life. I did not choose one teacher specifically, because all of my teachers played a part to help me.

My teachers really changed my mindset over the years. It has helped me mature as a person quicker than others.

Since 2017, Charter School Capital has held an annual essay contest celebrating exceptional teachers. We call it the Dewey Awards, in celebration of Mr. Richard Dewey – a teacher who provided exceptional mentorship to our founder and CEO Stuart Ellis. Every year, we get a brilliant selection of stories written by students from charter schools all over the nation. This year’s winners are featured here. But each of these stories is worth sharing.

This week, we bring you a story written by Sejal Darsi that celebrates Ms. Brown of Queen City STEM School.

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Hello, My name is Sejal Darsi and I am in the 3rd grade at Queen City Stem School in Charlotte, North Carolina. I would like to tell about my teacher Ms. Brown.

I love having Ms. Brown as my teacher this year. This is because I can understand her teaching easily. My teacher answers all of my questions and she is patient. She has encouraged me to work hard to achieve my goals. She is very helpful to all the students who may not know something. She explains everything in detail so that I and all other students are motivated to complete all the tasks in the class. Now, I am going to tell how Ms. Brown changed me.

Mrs. Brown with her student, Sejal Darsi

Ms. Brown gave me a hard problem in math. I solved it fast and I checked after I submitted my answer, but it was incorrect. I learned from my teacher that I always have to check back and look over my work before I submit my final answer. We also have this “Fun Friday” concept in my class. Fun Friday is a reward for the students who participate and complete their homework and tasks on time. One Friday I did not complete my assignment and I missed the fun Friday. My teacher explained and asked me to complete the homework first. My teacher encourages me to complete my assignments on time because I am supposed but it is also nice to get rewarded.

From that day I make sure that I am checking daily and trying to complete all assignments on time. One more thing I learned from my teacher is that I have to share my knowledge with other students who need help in the class. I loved to be a leader in the class, so I participate actively.

My teacher’s words always motivate me to help my friends and family.

My family is from India and my parents used to tell me below Shloka (Poetic form used in Sanskrit language) about the teacher.

Guru Brahma (Teacher represents Lord Brahma – Lord Brahma is creator of the universe)
Guru Vishnu (Teacher represents Lord Vishnu – Lord Vishnu is preserver)
Guru Devo Maheswaraha (Teacher represents Lord Shiva – Lord Shiva is evil destroyer)
Guru Sakshaath para Brahma ( We have to see the Lord in our Teacher) Tasmaishri Guravenamaha (I bow to that true teacher)

Sloka Meaning: The Teacher is the living representative of the supreme being. He/she gives me knowledge and destroys ignorance.
I salute such a true teacher. I would like to thank her for teaching me in 3rd grade.

I really want Ms. Brown to be my teacher for upcoming grades and because I want to learn more things from her. I love her so much. I am really happy for getting this opportunity and grateful for submitting my story about my teacher.

Since 2017, Charter School Capital has held an annual essay contest celebrating exceptional teachers. We call it the Dewey Awards, in celebration of Mr. Richard Dewey – a teacher who provided exceptional mentorship to our founder and CEO Stuart Ellis. Every year, we get a brilliant selection of stories written by students from charter schools all over the nation. This year’s winners are featured here. But each of these stories is worth sharing.

This week we bring you a story written by Christopher Harley about Ms. Ashleigh Lanzone of Monroe Charter Academy in Monroe, NC.

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Pamela Smith: Hi, my name is Pamela Smith and this is my grandson, Christopher Harley. Christopher, can you give us a little background about you?
Christopher Harley: Yeah, so like she said, I’m Christopher Harley. I’m nine years old. I like to be called Chris and I go to Monroe Charter Academy in Monroe, North Carolina.

PS: Well, Christopher goes to Monroe Charter in North Carolina, and there was a teacher that he is smitten with, fond of, takes a lot of liking to. Her name is Ms. Lanzone. And we have decided to break Ms. Lanzone’s name down and give an example for each letter. Ms. Lanzone’s name is spelled L-A-N-Z-O-N-E. The first letter of her name is loving. The second letter is attention. The third letter is nice. The fourth letter is Zelle . The fifth is outgoing. The six is noble and the seventh is excellent. Christopher, I now leave it up to you.
CH: Okay. So L is loving. She is loving and loyal because she shows up every day to help teach me, even if she is sick, sad, or has a meeting.

PS: The next letter.
CH: A, she shows me attention when I need extra help with my homework.

PS: The next one.
CH: The next one is nice. She is nice because she never raises her voice at me.

PS: The next one is Zelle.
CH: She encourages me when I need help.

PS: Next one is outgoing.
CH: She is friendly. She makes learning fun.

PS: The next one is noble.
CH: She is one of a kind.

PS: And last but not least…
CH: She listens well to everything.

PS: I say. And that one is excellent. And she is, she is an excellent teacher. Ms. Lanzone could have done anything else, but she chose to teach children. And that says a lot about her. I mean, she is beautiful inside and out. And for her to decide to become an educator and not pursue any other career because it’s very obvious she could have, but we are just so thankful and grateful that she is a teacher. And that she is Christopher’s teacher.

Thank you, Ms. Lanzone, from the bottom of our hearts. May God bless you.

Since 2017, Charter School Capital has held an annual essay contest celebrating exceptional teachers. We call it the Dewey Awards, in celebration of Mr. Richard Dewey – a teacher who provided exceptional mentorship to Stuart Ellis, our founder and CEO. Every year we get a brilliant selection of stories written by students from charter schools all over the nation. We chose three stories as winners of this year’s context. But each of these stories is worth sharing.

This week we bring you a story sent in by Aida Reynoso, celebrating Ms. Harpal of Maria L. Varisco Rogers Charter School.

Growing up, I have always been a student that did not enjoy reading at all because I feel like books have too many words and pages in them. I would often find books I thought I was interested in just by reading the summary on the back, but then I would see that the book had 400 pages in it. I would feel anxious because of the number of words on each page, and I still feel like this as a college student but it does not worry me as much anymore.

Aida Reynoso

My 5th-6th grade English, writing, and history teacher, Ms. Harpal, changed the way I felt about reading long books by using audiobooks in her class, making it easier for me to be able to read and enjoy books without feeling overwhelmed because the book had 400 pages. Ms. Harpal was one of my favorite teachers growing up and the first English teacher I had that really had such a positive impact on me. She would often reward her students with food for their great work, and one time I remember writing a parody to Oh Captain, My Captain by Walt Whitman and renaming it Oh Cookie, My Cookie. It was a poem about me eating a cookie and it traveling down my digestive system.

From that point on, Ms. Harpal noticed that there was something special about the way I wrote, and she never let my hard work go unnoticed. She was the first teacher who really noticed my writing abilities, and I am thankful for her commitment and hard work. I know she may have had more downs than ups in her role as a teacher, but if she hadn’t stuck with it, I would have never had the opportunity to be her student and receive significant enjoyment and knowledge from everything that she has educated me on.

The experience in HER classroom became one of the key reasons I really enjoyed going to school. She would make learning fun with music every day, and she always had an interesting story to tell in class. Ms. Harpal has been there for me and other students in a way that parents, family, and friends could not have been, and she has encouraged me to become the best student I can be, even now. I still use audiobooks till this day, and without them, I would never be able to read a 400-page book.

Ms. Harpal showed me not only how to become a better writer, but also how to succeed in life. Not only did she give me the right guidance to do well in the classes she has taught, but she prepared me to learn about Phillis Wheatley, Nikki Giovanni, Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and all of these other famous poets I remember learning about in her class when I was 10-12 years old, that I am now relearning as a college student in my English classes. She has had such a significant impact on my entire life, and I could not have been more appreciative of knowing her. I hope I can also have the same effect on my students one day when I am an English teacher myself.