ARTICLE: Bronx Teacher/MC POPPER Joins Top Ranks Of Science Instructors
MC Popper Nicola Vitale is someone I've had the good fortune of working with for four years out in the South Bronx. His story is fascinating and the award he received is a testament to the incredible dedication Nic has put into his work at Banana Kelly High School in the South Bronx.
In NYC all high schoolers go through an application process where they list the schools they want to attend. The big and famous schools like Bronx Science, LaGuardia (Fame), and Stuyvesant High School are able to cream the best applicants who are already prepared for high level academic/artistic work. This usually means minority candidates from the outer boroughs don't get admitted to high profile schools - for example, at Stuyvesant, only 6% of their students are Black or Latino and about 20% of their students are available for free lunch - this is not exactly representative of the city's population.
Many mid-profile schools find reasons/ways not to admit students with low test scores. In many ways this "creaming" is an act of self-preservation - it pads your test scores and helps you meet AYP as defined by the state/federal government.
By contrast, Nic's school, Banana Kelly, serves a small neighborhood in the South Bronx where 81% of the students qualify for free lunch (and another 10% qualify for reduced-price lunch). The article below states that "half of the students live in public housing and most enter the school well behind grade level." That is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the challenges students at this school face. When I administered reading tests to 9th graders last year, we found an almost perfect bell curve of reading levels from 2nd to 10th grade for the 9th graders. The average 9th grader was reading at about the 7th grade level.
I recently wrote one of my former colleagues at Banana Kelly - a very bright, witty, gifted and caring teacher - about how her year was going. She responded with this:
Sometimes I think every one of my students has ADD. Other days, I just want to cut off my eyes from frustration. Other days, I take responsibility for a lesson that is simply NOT engaging. Other days, things go well.
I never cease to be horrified with the private lives of sooooooo many of these children....enough horror to make an average person want to kill themselves...ah well...we do what we can...but, i wish i were magic...and that is simply not the case.
If we wanted to give these kids a fare shot, they would each have a private therapist; we would do group therapy together...and anger management...and hugging therapy to make up for nightmare foster and shelter stories....and then, once we take care of the heart...the heads would take care of themselves."
I found her humility and eloquence to be moving. I also thought this e-mail captures the roller coaster of emotions, I think, most teachers at the school have to deal with on a daily basis.
Further complicating things, Banana Kelly high school has no library, no gym and, after being open for 10 years, the city JUST built their first science lab during the 2008-2009 school year - the rub? That one lab is shared by the three high schools in the building.
Additionally, last year was the first time space was allocated for a computer lab. These issues alone illustrate the resources Nic did not have to work with when he started his field based science curriculum ten years ago.
Having watched Nic and his team engage students who struggle with incredible social and academic challenges was one of the most exciting things to watch during my time working at Banana Kelly HS.
Oh, and I'm sure a lot of you are wondering about the name "Banana Kelly." Kelly street is shaped like a banana. This simple rationale alone makes BKHS a front runner for the coolest school name in all of New York City!
Below is the article about Nic - you can link to a video of Nic here.
Enjoy!!
Bronx Teacher Joins Top Ranks Of Science Instructors
By: Lindsey Christ
Science can be difficult to teach, but an exemplary Bronx teacher who was honored Thursday overcame scarcities in his school and designed his own curriculum. NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.
Nicola Vitale wanted to teach real science, with students conducting experiments and drawing their own conclusions, but the high school he taught at in the South Bronx didn't have a science lab and many students didn't even know how to use a metric ruler.
So Vitale designed a whole new curriculum for ninth graders at the Banana Kelly High School, using the Bronx River as a laboratory. Many years later, he was acknowledged by the Sloan Foundation and Fund for the City of New York on Thursday as one of the best science teachers in the city.
"It's very uncommon for such a prestigious organization to recognize work at a small community school like ours. Most often it is elite programs that get that kind of recognition," said Vitale.
The six other educators who received the city's First Annual Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics generally came from renowned high schools like Bronx Science and Townsend Harris. At Banana Kelly, half of the students live in public housing and most enter the school well behind grade level.
Vitale wants students to understand how science relates to their lives.
"Sometimes it's questioning, 'Wow, now I really understand what they are talking about when they say the asthma rate is 40 percent higher than in other communities in New York City.' And that is where students really become inspired to become scientists," said Principal Joshua Laub of Banana Kelly.
During the award ceremony on Thursday, even Schools Chancellor Joel Klein noted that Vitale, and Banana Kelly, were unique among the winners.
"Really, excellence and Bronx Science are synonymous, and we want that to always to be. But we also know that excellence at Banana Kelly is entirely possible," said Klein. "We saw that here tonight."
Experts acknowledge that science education continues to fall short in the city and across the country, but the Fund and Sloan Foundation hope that by recognizing and highlighting examples of excellence, more scientists will choose to go into teaching and good teachers will figure out better ways to teach science.
Nicola Vitale hopes that more of those teachers choose to work at schools like Banana Kelly and in neighborhoods like the South Bronx.
From: http://ny1.com/6-bronx-news-content/top_stories/108588/bronx-teache...
The full press release from the Sloan Foundation awards can be found at:
http://www.sloan.org/assets/files/press_releases/teachingawardspres...
PS. Don't forget, one of the cool things about Ning is that you can actually drop this teacher a line through his page if you're interested, or you can post thoughts/feedback below!
In NYC all high schoolers go through an application process where they list the schools they want to attend. The big and famous schools like Bronx Science, LaGuardia (Fame), and Stuyvesant High School are able to cream the best applicants who are already prepared for high level academic/artistic work. This usually means minority candidates from the outer boroughs don't get admitted to high profile schools - for example, at Stuyvesant, only 6% of their students are Black or Latino and about 20% of their students are available for free lunch - this is not exactly representative of the city's population.
Many mid-profile schools find reasons/ways not to admit students with low test scores. In many ways this "creaming" is an act of self-preservation - it pads your test scores and helps you meet AYP as defined by the state/federal government.
By contrast, Nic's school, Banana Kelly, serves a small neighborhood in the South Bronx where 81% of the students qualify for free lunch (and another 10% qualify for reduced-price lunch). The article below states that "half of the students live in public housing and most enter the school well behind grade level." That is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the challenges students at this school face. When I administered reading tests to 9th graders last year, we found an almost perfect bell curve of reading levels from 2nd to 10th grade for the 9th graders. The average 9th grader was reading at about the 7th grade level.
I recently wrote one of my former colleagues at Banana Kelly - a very bright, witty, gifted and caring teacher - about how her year was going. She responded with this:
Sometimes I think every one of my students has ADD. Other days, I just want to cut off my eyes from frustration. Other days, I take responsibility for a lesson that is simply NOT engaging. Other days, things go well.
I never cease to be horrified with the private lives of sooooooo many of these children....enough horror to make an average person want to kill themselves...ah well...we do what we can...but, i wish i were magic...and that is simply not the case.
If we wanted to give these kids a fare shot, they would each have a private therapist; we would do group therapy together...and anger management...and hugging therapy to make up for nightmare foster and shelter stories....and then, once we take care of the heart...the heads would take care of themselves."
I found her humility and eloquence to be moving. I also thought this e-mail captures the roller coaster of emotions, I think, most teachers at the school have to deal with on a daily basis.
Further complicating things, Banana Kelly high school has no library, no gym and, after being open for 10 years, the city JUST built their first science lab during the 2008-2009 school year - the rub? That one lab is shared by the three high schools in the building.
Additionally, last year was the first time space was allocated for a computer lab. These issues alone illustrate the resources Nic did not have to work with when he started his field based science curriculum ten years ago.
Having watched Nic and his team engage students who struggle with incredible social and academic challenges was one of the most exciting things to watch during my time working at Banana Kelly HS.
Oh, and I'm sure a lot of you are wondering about the name "Banana Kelly." Kelly street is shaped like a banana. This simple rationale alone makes BKHS a front runner for the coolest school name in all of New York City!
Below is the article about Nic - you can link to a video of Nic here.
Enjoy!!
Bronx Teacher Joins Top Ranks Of Science Instructors
By: Lindsey Christ
Science can be difficult to teach, but an exemplary Bronx teacher who was honored Thursday overcame scarcities in his school and designed his own curriculum. NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.
Nicola Vitale wanted to teach real science, with students conducting experiments and drawing their own conclusions, but the high school he taught at in the South Bronx didn't have a science lab and many students didn't even know how to use a metric ruler.
So Vitale designed a whole new curriculum for ninth graders at the Banana Kelly High School, using the Bronx River as a laboratory. Many years later, he was acknowledged by the Sloan Foundation and Fund for the City of New York on Thursday as one of the best science teachers in the city.
"It's very uncommon for such a prestigious organization to recognize work at a small community school like ours. Most often it is elite programs that get that kind of recognition," said Vitale.
The six other educators who received the city's First Annual Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics generally came from renowned high schools like Bronx Science and Townsend Harris. At Banana Kelly, half of the students live in public housing and most enter the school well behind grade level.
Vitale wants students to understand how science relates to their lives.
"Sometimes it's questioning, 'Wow, now I really understand what they are talking about when they say the asthma rate is 40 percent higher than in other communities in New York City.' And that is where students really become inspired to become scientists," said Principal Joshua Laub of Banana Kelly.
During the award ceremony on Thursday, even Schools Chancellor Joel Klein noted that Vitale, and Banana Kelly, were unique among the winners.
"Really, excellence and Bronx Science are synonymous, and we want that to always to be. But we also know that excellence at Banana Kelly is entirely possible," said Klein. "We saw that here tonight."
Experts acknowledge that science education continues to fall short in the city and across the country, but the Fund and Sloan Foundation hope that by recognizing and highlighting examples of excellence, more scientists will choose to go into teaching and good teachers will figure out better ways to teach science.
Nicola Vitale hopes that more of those teachers choose to work at schools like Banana Kelly and in neighborhoods like the South Bronx.
From: http://ny1.com/6-bronx-news-content/top_stories/108588/bronx-teache...
The full press release from the Sloan Foundation awards can be found at:
http://www.sloan.org/assets/files/press_releases/teachingawardspres...
PS. Don't forget, one of the cool things about Ning is that you can actually drop this teacher a line through his page if you're interested, or you can post thoughts/feedback below!
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