Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein congratulated 14 top New York City Teaching Fellows for their achievements in the classroom. The teachers were selected from 359 nominees to receive the NYC Teaching Fellows Award for Classroom Excellence, which recognizes Teaching Fellows who raised student achievement and who served in leadership roles in their schools. The Chancellor honored the four award winners and 10 other finalists at a reception at Tweed Courthouse earlier this week. 

 

“I congratulate these teachers for their amazing and inspiring work with our students,” Chancellor Klein said. “Thanks to the Teaching Fellows program, more great teachers are working in public schools that for decades had been hard to staff. Today, more students from every neighborhood in our City have the opportunity to learn from the very best teachers, including the men and women we are recognizing today.”
 

Principals, assistant principals, teachers, and students nominated Teaching Fellows for the Classroom Excellence award. Fellows then submitted applications, including personal essays, letters of recommendation, and résumés. A selection committee comprised of NYC Teaching Fellows staff reviewed the applications and narrowed the pool to 14 finalists. Each finalist was interviewed and observed in the classroom, and the four winners were selected by senior staff from the Department of Education, The New Teacher Project, and The Fund for Public Schools, which provided support for the award. The selection committee assessed the candidates based on their educational accomplishments, impact on student achievement, teaching vision, and contribution to their school communities. The winners will receive $2,000 in addition to a $500 classroom grant. Finalists receive $250 each.