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Sau Ling (Charlene) ChanAdvanced Science Research, Living Environment Manhattan Center for Science & Mathematics |
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Elisabeth JaffeAlgebra, Computer Science, Math as a Language Baruch College Campus High School |
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Eleanor TerryMath A/B, Geometry, Algebra, Calculus, Statistics High School of Telecommunication Arts & Technology |
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Dorina CheregiAlgebra, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus Newcomers High School |
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Yunseon Esther KimAlgebra, Geometry Francis Lewis High School |
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Eloise N. ThompsonAlgebra, Pre-Calculus, Statistics DeWitt Clinton High School |
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Tom SangiorgiChemistry, Advanced Topics in Science Townsend Harris High School |
Sau Ling (Charlene) Chan
Advanced Science Research, Living Environment Manhattan Center for Science & MathematicsSau Ling (Charlene) Chan aspires not simply to create scientific minds but to stimulate critical thinking, pushing each student to pursue individual interests and seek out opportunities to learn. For students interested in neuroscience she recommends reading Brain Rules while she finds a neuroscientist mentor at CUNY. And so on for students interested in genetics, astronomy, and dozens of other fields. Her efforts leading students in scientific research projects have resulted in an international exchange program in which her students visit schools in Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam, present their research, and host international students back home. Schools in Mexico, China, and elsewhere are replicating Ms. Chan's scientific research course.
Elisabeth Jaffe
Algebra, Computer Science, Math as a Language Baruch College Campus High SchoolElisabeth Jaffe is one of the reasons Manhattan's Baruch College Campus High School regularly tops lists of the nation's best schools. She generates excitement about mathematics by inviting students to make calculations about everyday activities, such as eating an apple or making coffee. Grouping students by their preferred learning style, her lessons target individual student strengths—word problems for some, equations for others—allowing her to tailor classroom instruction to maximize student learning. Surprisingly for a math teacher, she also treats her students to novels, such as Einstein's Dreams, that inspire mathematical thinking. It's a formula that works. Says her principal, "I can't imagine running the school without her."
Eleanor Terry
Math A/B, Geometry, Algebra, Calculus, Statistics High School of Telecommunication Arts & TechnologyEleanor Terry doesn't just teach math, she teaches optimism, having declared war on the all-too-common conviction among students that math is not for them. Students collect data on their own performance, plotting how their grades correlate not with intrinsic math ability, but with hard work, study hours, and perseverance. Calm and caring, Ms. Terry has developed a devoted following among her students, who respond not only to her patient style, but to her dogged determination to relate math to everyday life. Her students conduct exit polling at NYC elections, analyze baseball player salaries, and calculate the future impact of college loans. As one educational professional remarked, "She's the teacher you want your kids to have."
Dorina Cheregi
Algebra, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus Newcomers High SchoolA Romanian immigrant, Dorina Cheregi arrived in the U.S. as a math teacher speaking little English. It is fitting, then, that she teaches math at Newcomers High School in Queens, a gateway school for newly arrived immigrant teenagers from all over the world. For over 17 years, Ms. Cheregi's exacting standards, compassionate style, and hours of preparation have produced enviable results. Her honors students have a 92 percent pass rate on the AP Calculus exam and under her tutelage Newcomers' math team has become a contender in the City's Math League, holding their own against the specialized high schools. Says one student, "She's the best math teacher I've ever had."
Yunseon Esther Kim
Algebra, Geometry Francis Lewis High SchoolFrancis Lewis High School is the fourth largest high school in the City with 4300 students, almost all of whom live in south Flushing and Fresh Meadows, Queens. From day one as a newly minted New York City Teaching Fellow, Ms. Kim has impressed her colleagues with her ability to teach students at all levels of preparation. For eight years, her patience, perseverance, and gift for lucid mathematical explanation have achieved remarkable results. Recently assigned to teach second-year algebra to students who had all failed Algebra I, she went to work. A year later, two-thirds of those students passed the Regents exam, an astonishing achievement. Says a former Francis Lewis principal, "She reaches kids whom some folks would say are unreachable."
Eloise N. Thompson
Algebra, Pre-Calculus, Statistics DeWitt Clinton High SchoolDeWitt Clinton High School in the Moshoulu section of the Bronx has had a difficult recent history, slated to be closed in 2012, but then given a reprieve. Eloise N. Thompson, the youngest of 14 children, was born in Jamaica and moved to the Bronx when she was seven. Having attended Bronx public schools she is well prepared to understand the challenges her students face. Holding herself to the same high standards she demands of her students, she devotes prep periods, lunch, and hours before and after school tutoring students. With her gifts for personally connecting with students, Ms. Thompson performs wonders in the classroom. Says a colleague, "Eloise is always expecting the best work possible of all students and doing what's necessary to help them do it."
Tom Sangiorgi
Chemistry, Advanced Topics in Science Townsend Harris High SchoolIn Tom Sangiorgi's chemistry class at Townsend Harris High School, it's not uncommon to find him shooting balled up socks over the heads of astonished students. Propelled by a makeshift cannon, the flying socks are but one of the imaginative demonstrations that have made Mr. Sangiorgi a legend in his 18 years teaching at Townsend. His demonstrations lead to in-depth lessons that connect chemistry with the everyday, exploring why bananas turn brown or why partially hydrogenated oils are used in candy bars. Outside the classroom, he coaches Townsend's Science Olympiad, which has grown to include a tenth of the student body—the largest organization in the school. Says a colleague, "Tom is a teacher who puts his heart into everything he does."
