By:Damian J. Troise
"These people are all very special," said Lynbrook Superintendent William Metkiff. "They've done something that no one expected and we wanted to recognize that and thank them."
The recipients included Trudy Amodeo, Evelyn Daza, Josh Berlin, Joyce Paley and Meil Giordano.
Amodeo spent the last 11 years working in Lynbrook, teaching at the Marion Street Elementary School. She won the award in part for her work on the new social studies curriculum. She was in charge of rewriting the curriculum to better prepare the students for the new test requirements. She worked on it for the last four years and constantly had to adapt the curriculum to meet the updating of the yearly exam.
"In the beginning we were just figuring out what the state test looks like," she said. "We're still constantly checking to see if anything is new."
Part of her curriculum includes using trivia type games like Jeopardy to teach the material.
"We've made social studies fun," said Amodeo. "The children are doing outside research in fifth grade."
Daza started teaching at Waverly Park Elementary School three years ago. She took the position directly out of college and works in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Daza received the superintendent's award for her dedication and service to the children she teaches. Aside from her classroom work she also makes home visits to act as a translator and takes on social worker responsibilities.
"I didn't expect to win," said Daza. "I was a little surprised and embarrassed, because it's part of my job."
Lynbrook implemented the ESL program the same year Daza started working. To make the students feel more comfortable they were paired up with English speaking students to get them involved socially. Books, pictures, modeling and acting were also used to make the children feel more comfortable with learning English.
"We let the students stay in the classroom instead of isolating them," said Daza.
Berlin received the award for his work as a physical education and health teacher at North Middle School. He's been teaching there for six years, as well as coaching varsity soccer and track. He instituted a fitness-based physical education program, adapting it to students' personal abilities, while challenging them to improve themselves.
"I enjoy working with the kids and being busy volunteering," said Berlin.
At the core of his curriculum is concentrating on lifelong fitness and well being and the three P's: preparation, participation, and positive attitude.
Paley received the award for her work as a speech language therapist. She came to Lynbrook in 1983 and works in the special education department at West End Elementary School. She works with deaf children and foreign language children in and outside of the classroom.
"I work closely with the parents and very closely with the teachers," said Paley. "We plan the lesson together, keeping the children's moods in mind."
Giordano received the award for both his classroom work as a math teacher and work in a district-wide character education program. He's been teaching at South Middle School for 25 years and has recently been part of the "Bringing a World Of Difference" program. The goal of this program is to help build character in students and to teach them to respect others and work together.
"The kids were saying hello to everyone and making good friends," said Giordano. "We were telling them that it's okay to be different."
Teamwork was stressed through workshops teaching how to fight prejudice.
"I've been teaching for a long time, but I never really brought teamwork into the classroom until now," he said.
Metkiff commended the five award recipients for their outstanding work and recognized them as role models for other teachers in the district. Board of Education President Phyllis Caruso said these awards help to identify what makes the Lynbrook school district so unique, the teachers.
"We acknowledge what makes us special is the support and loyalty of everyone involved in our schools," said Caruso.
