Helene Levine makes a name for herself

Aside from making a great name for herself as an educator, Helene M. Levine says she has a great name for an educator.

"Kids like to rhyme 'Helene Levine'", the newly appointed Lawrence Number Five school principal said of her own moniker. So she uses her middle initial, "M" in her official capacity. Levine started as a first grade teacher at a since-closed private daycare center more than 30 years ago. Levine remembers having taught nine hours per day, with no breaks, but also discovering there that teaching children to read was very rewarding.

After that she taught forth grade for 13 years at Public School 95 a middle school in the Bronx. It was at that school that she says her principal saw something in her that she did not see; the faculties of an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher.

When he first approached her about teaching ESL, Levine said she "looked at him like he had two heads," explaining that she does not speak any other languages, except a little Yiddish.

Levine taught night courses to non-English speaking P.S. 95 parents in what she called "survival skills." Simple tasks, she explained, like filling out a form in a doctor's office, or a job application, which are daunting for immigrants, were broken down in those classes.

In 1998 Levine moved to Florida, where she would become a literary specialist working with 11 different schools in incorporating reading and literacy into ESL programs.

The demographic makeup of Naples, Fla., was of both very wealthy families, and the children of migrant workers — making what she considered to be an interesting dynamic.

Levine moved to Concord, Mass., where she worked at the Thoreau School as principal designee until 2004. On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, she was left in charge of the school when the principal was absent.

A lifelong educator, Levine earned a master's degree in Reading The College of New Rochelle and was an adjunct professor at Lehman College.

She is working towards a doctorate in educational administration, and is nearly at the completion of that program, short only her dissertation. "Lawrence has gone through a lot of changes, and I've gone through a lot of changes," Levine said.