West Hempstead English teacher wins Educator of Excellence award

“It’s rare that you actually grow up to be the thing you wanted to be in kindergarten,” said West Hempstead High School English teacher Jeannette Casto. “It’s been wonderful. I love the faculty and staff, and the students who I teach.”

Casto, 41, was one of 15 in New York State who was honored with the Educator of Excellence Award from the New York State English Council (NYSEC) this year.

Casto, who has taught at the high school for 16 years, is a resident of Seaford, where she lives with her husband and three children. The first teacher in her family, Casto grew up in Rosedale, Queens and attended Sacred Heart Academy in West Hempstead. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from Queens College, and later attended Adelphi University, where she received her master’s degree in education.

Kathleen O’Farrell, director of West Hempstead High School’s English Department and a NYSEC member, nominated Casto for the award.

“Jeannette put together a portfolio of her work — she did a lot of interactive lessons,” O’Farrell said. “She also did a unit with Rob Gerwitz, the physical education teacher, about the Holocaust.”

Casto, who mostly teaches 11th grade, told the Herald that she submitted a portfolio of her work, as well as the work of her students. One of the projects required students to write a poem based on the play or novel they had read.

“It had to poetically capture what the novel or play was about. Some of them actually wrote songs or raps,” Casto said. Other projects, she explained, included selections from an Edgar Allen Poe unit, and a project on “The Scarlet Letter,” one of Casto’s favorite novels.

Casto said she learned she won the award on June 1. Many, including Superintendent John Hogan, praised her for her work and commitment to the district. “She’s well respected,” Hogan said. “I would even go so far as to say she is beloved.”

O’Farrell added: “She’s vivacious, she cares about the students, and she goes above and beyond in everything she does. She walks into the office and always smiles. She’s filled with positive energy.”