Penn Alexander Teachers Earn National Certification

December 3, 2010

http://www.gse.upenn.edu/content/penn-alexander-teachers-earn-national-certification

12 teachers in the Penn Alexander School have achieved National Board Certification, the highest level of certification in the field of teaching.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) developed standards for what effective teachers should know and be able to do, along with a process to determine whether individual teachers meet these criteria.

To earn certification, a teacher must complete four portfolios that include written commentary and videos of classroom teaching that explicitly describes, analyzes and reflects on student work, teacher accomplishments and teaching practices. Teachers also must document how their teaching meets the standards and has a positive impact on student learning. The final step is a three-hour computerized assessment measuring the teacher's content knowledge and chosen area of certification.

Two teachers at the school – Kate Naughton (First Grade) and Darlene Schaffer (Learning Support) had been awarded the certification previously. Joining them in the most recent round are:

Arlene Brown (Middle School Math)
Mary Ann Milewski (Second Grade)
Richard Staniec (Middle School Science)
Melissa Trusty (Kindergarten)
Hillary (Ehling) Tubin (Middle School Literacy)
Megan Wapner (Middle School Literacy)
Lisa Waters (Second Grade)

Congratulations to this year's recipients:

 
Michele Dixon (Elementary Science)
Jenny Shieh (5th Grade)
Jayne Downing (Librarian)

Faculty and Staff

The faculty and staff listed below hail from across the country and as a team bring a wealth of experience in specific curricular areas and in child development.

Principal                                     Sheila A. Sydnor
Administrative Assistant          Margaret O. Vincent
Executive Assistant                 Shonda Johnson
                                
Counselor                                  Theresa Knight
Planning Coordinator               Ann Kreidle
Nurse                                          Jodi West-Booker
Building Engineer                     Allan Crabbe
Cafeteria /Food Services          

School Police Officer                 Mitchell Robinson

    
IMC Jayne Downing-Librarian
106 Robin Muse-Music
103 George Armstrong-Physical Education
B26 Nancy Matlack-Technology Coordinator
B28 Peter Endriss-Computer Science Teacher
201 Michele Dixon-Science
234 Darlene Schaffer-Special Education
320 Tarik Johnson-Special Education 
202 Elsie Camp-ESL

Headstart  Evelyn Brown-Pre-K
Headstart  Barbara Blake-Pre-K

230 Michael Lowe -K
231 Penny Silver-K    
233 Melissa Trusty-K 

   
133 Kate Naughton-1        
134 Janet Bebian-1
131 Kate Sharp-1  

         
117 Colette Carter-2
118 Lisa Waters-2    
119 Maryann Milewski-Moskal-2

108 Tiffany Settles-3
109 Kristen Johnson-3
110 Anna Varano-3

    
208 Kristin Jones-4
209 Christina Waters-4
210 Maria Ottinger-4

217 Joyce Arnosky-5
218 Marjorie Tittle-5
219 Jenny Shieh-5

        Middle School
317 Hillary Tubin-Literacy- 6,7,8
319 Megan Wapner-Literacy- 6,7,8
308 Chadd Johnson- Social Studies-6,7,8
309 Matt Hunn- Math-6,7,8
310 Arlene Brown- Math-6,7,8
301 Richard Staniec-Science- 6,7,8