Every year NYSEC holds an event at the Annual Conference to honor the work and professionalism of English Language Arts educators. Award winners show a commitment to excellence, innovation, and creativity in teaching, mentoring, and learning.
The Awards Ceremony is one way NYSEC shows its appreciation for the award winners and how they inspire excellence in everyone, students and teachers alike.
Administration
Matina Stergiopoulos
Plainview-Old Bethpage
John F. Kennedy High School
Secondary
James Casey
John Jay High School
Donna McAndrews
Niskayuna High School
Lucille Ogden
Arlington High School
Amy O’Leary
Roy C. Ketcham High School
Megan Rivelli
Monroe Woodbury High School
Sydney Valerio
North Rockland High School
Beth Wagner
Hewlett High School
Robin Zisa
Guilderland High School
Middle
Nancy Czachor
Van Antwerp Middle School
Martha Santana
Isaac E. Young Middle School
Leanne Donelan & Michael Kats
Saratoga Pathways Academy
Rachel Quattrocchi & Elizabeth Rooney
Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School
“Humanizing our World: Studying Graffiti with Fourth Graders”
Melissa League Hotaling
Ted Kesler
The City University of New York
Short Fiction/Creative Non- Fiction
Tina Pathak
Herricks High School
Grade 11
“The Roadblocks of a Mind-Map”
Caroline Lau
Herricks High School
Grade 11
“Valuing All Parts of our Identity”
Poetry
Aieshah Ashfer
Herricks High School
Grade 11
“veetil”
Vivian Huang
Herricks High School
Grade 10
“the classroom is our rainforest”
Administration
Mark Brooks
Broadalbin-Perth High School
Pam Motler
Ballston Spa Middle School
College
Dr. Marie-Therese C. Sulit
Mount St. Mary College
Secondary
Daniel Callahan, Jr.
West Genessee High School
Vivian DiGennaro
John F. Kennedy High School
Gary Gnirrep
Guilderland High School
Jennifer Greco
Wellington C. Mepham High School
Jessica Hunter
Syosset High School
Christina Pepe
Shenendehowa High School
Brittany Ruisi
Herricks High School
Theresa Walter
Great South Neck High School
Middle
Kerry Chapman
Stimson Middle School
John Iorio
Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School
Christine Krowles
H.B. Mattlin Middle School
Elementary
Jennifer Abramowitz
Jackson Annex Elementary School
Diane Bologna
Jackson Main Elementary School
Bernadette Johnson
Barack Obama Elementary School
Michelle Pineda
David Paterson Elementary School
Janine Sloth
Kinry Road Elementary School
Victoria Suarez
Brookhaven Elementary School
Debbie Rosenquist
Terryville Road Elementary School
Teresea Hewitt
Helen B. Duffield Elementary School
Donna Scully & Lina Seaton
Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School
Michaela Caruso & Meghan Bleakley
Monroe-Woodbury High School
Adam Biggs
Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School
Carolyn Blanchard
Westlake Middle School
Caitlyn Fagan
Broadalbin-Perth Middle School
Dominick Mayo
Roy C. Ketcham High School
April Charleson
J.W. Leary Junior High
Amy Eckelman
Watson Elementary School
Patricia Rand
Clarkson University
Mary Donnelly
Grand Avenue Middle School
Scott Storm
Harvest Collegiate High School
Short Fiction
Paige Meschon
Schalmont High School
Grade 11
“Untitled”
Poetry
Joanna Chen
Guilderland High School
Grade 9
“remember the stars of the lost”
“Learning Alongside Them: About Student Choice and Modern-Day Slavery”
Jacqueline Hesse
Excelsior Academy
Newburgh Enlarged City School District
Bridges
Oceanside School District and
Uniondale Union Free School District
Levittown Literacy Center
Levittown Schools
The Body Electric
South Huntington Schools
Schenectady Smart Scholars Early
College High School
Schenectady City School District
Building World-Class Leaders at Wyandanch Elementary Schools
Wyandanch Union Free School District
Administration
Katie Ralston
Cuba-Rushford Middle School
Gloria Dingwall
Dryden Street School
Joann Hili-Carbone
South Huntington UFSD
College
Joellen Maples
St. John Fisher College
Sandy Strock
Siena College
Secondary
Tanya Cestaro
Sanford H. Calhoun High School
Jennifer De Lisi-Hall
Irvington High School
Heather Flood
Maple Hill High School
Lacey Gardner
Whitesville Central School
Diane Geurin
Guilderland High School
Jaclyn Lein
Island Trees High School
Ross Marvin
Schuylerville High School
Sarah Mattice
Schalmont High School
Alycia Spraker
Broadalbin-Perth High School
Christine Zandstra
Roy C. Ketcham High School
Middle
Ryan Kenny
Northport Middle School
Anne Klingle
New World Prep Charter School
Rebecca Levy
Grand Avenue Middle School
Brendan McGowan
Finley Middle School
Tina Varughese
Ballston Spa Middle School
Elementary
Dr. Toni Ann Barone
Plaza Elementary School
Angela Berner
Huntington UFSD
Nancy Longenberger
James S. Evans Elementary School
Kelly Baldwin & Debra Cavaliere
Northport High School
Todd Hyman & Tom Lee
Monroe-Woodbury High School
Theresa Lewis, John Balet & Matthew Golglowski
Clean Technologies Early College High School
Chris McNulty & Anthony Simiele
Ballston Spa Middle School
Kay O’Rourke-Kowalski & Carmela Gustafson
Oakdale-Bohemia Middle School
Matthew Hodges
Monroe-Woodbury High School
Yvanna Persaud
High School for Media and Communications
Ethical Issues in Science (Bioethics)
Campbell-Savona Jr./Sr. High School
Campbell-Savona CSD
The Uncommon Community Reading Program (TUCCR)
Morris Central School
Morris CSD
Peer Responder Mentors Program
Manhasset Secondary School
Manhasset UFSD
Sara Fleming
Westhill High School
Adam Kinory
The School of the Future
Terri Weiss
Hudson Valley Writing Project
“Using Critical Literacy to Frame Students’ Interactions with Complex Texts”
Dr. Salika Lawrence, Medgar Evers College & Tiffany Labissiere, Literacy Coach, NYC
College
Darshna Katwala
Nassau Community College
Dr. Roberta Levitt
LIU Post
Administration
Maryann Stoorvogel – Pine Plains CSD
Elementary
Elaine Monahan – Brookside Elementary School
Middle
Aidan Byrne
Baldwin Middle School
Michael Dlugozima
Merrick Avenue Middle School
Nancy Ebel
Bulkeley Middle School
Joanna Gentile
Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School
Alan Schwartz
Great Neck South Middle School
Secondary
Alyssa Dembek
New Rochelle High School
Julia Fernandez
Briarcliff High School
Dr. Shehnaz Khalfan-Washington –
Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health & Science Charter School
Chris Mazura
Guilderland High School
Marilyn Norton
Roy C. Ketcham High School
Elizabeth Sherwood
Northport High School
Pamela Uruburu
Northport High School
Erica Wagner-O’Rourke
W.C. Mepham High School
Victor Jaccarino
Team ORCHID Newsroom
Plaza Elementary School, Baldwin UFSD
The Writer’s Block
Ward Melville High School, Three Village CSD
Big Ideas for Little Kids
Oceanside HS & Oceanside ES, Oceanside CSD
Envisions – Critical Writing and Research
Westlake High School, Mt. Pleasant CSD
Berner One School, One Book Initiative
Berner Middle School, Massapequa CSD
Rob Irwin & Matt Holbrook
Monroe-Woodbury High School
Kimberly Ruppel & Colleen Ottalagano
Guilderland High School
Frank Adamo
Iroquois Middle School, Niskayuna CSD
Peter Khost
Stonybrook University
Christopher Mazura
Guilderland High School
Kaitlin Blumberg
Monroe-Woodbury High School
Katelyn Maroney
Mineola High School
Krystal Haight
Westlake Middle School
Rina Hartigan
Plaza Elementary School
“Teaching Writing Hope for a Just Writing Society”
Dr. Nicole Sieben, SUNY Old Westbury
Administration
Valarie Karas
Ballston Spa School District
Steven Gilhuley
Malverne Union Free School District
Lucille Iconis
Massapequa Public Schools
Dr. Cynthia Seniuk
North Merrick School District
Beth Zirogiannis – Oceanside School District
Elementary
Maryann Cockerill
Massapequa Public Schools
Kathleen Sokolowski
Farmingdale Public Schools
Kelly Mackay
Baldwin School District
Middle
Debra Villano
Island Trees School District
Kathryn Dodd
Amityville Union Free School District
Kathleen Fenn
Pine Plains Central School District
Kendra Fingerhut
Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School
Anna DeMartino
Sewanhaka Central High School District
Brett Schwartz
Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District
Tabatha Stillwell
Malone Central School District
Janine Katsigiorgis
Amityville Union Free School District
Secondary
Jennifer Levin
Northport-East Northport Schools
Danielle Benner
Guilderland Central School District
Brooke Dickson
New Lebanon Central School District
Sarah Fleming
Westhill School District
Anastasia Caputo
Malverne Union Free School District
Cheryl Meany
Baldwinsville Central School District
Louis Ventura
Olean City School District
Andrew Maycock
Guilderland Central School District
Ricki Mazzella
Marlboro Central School District
Jolene Morielli-Russo
New Rochelle Public Schools
Lianne Bellinger
Sewanhaka Central High School District
Samantha Fishman
Briarcliff Manor School District
Laura Sheridan-Carbone
Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District
Rebecca Fiske
Malone Central School District
Susan Chappell
Monroe-Woodbury Central School District
The Canterbury Tale Parody
Skaneateles Central School District
Massapequa High School Media Studies Program
Massapequa Public Schools
Writing and Filmmaking
City School District of New Rochelle
Speak Truth to the Power Research Film Unit
Skaneateles Central School District
Jennifer Frasca and Laura Trongard
Oceanside School District
Kristin Petersen and Jennifer Rabie
Massapequa Public Schools
Amy Scognamillo and Amy Nardone
Bay Shore Schools
Tom Durkin and Michelle McNeight
Briarcliff Manor School District
Beth Schneider
The City College Academy of the Arts
Kjersti Vanslyke-Briggs & Marissa Orezzoli
Sydney Central School District
Ellen Brooks
Hunter College-CUNY
Reinaldo Latorre
Amityville Union Free School District
Stephen Sorensen
Olean City School District
Michelle Bulla
Monroe-Woodbury Central School District
Erik Sweet
New York State Education Department
College
Dr. Wendy Galgan
St. Francis College
Dr. Jacqueline George
SUNY New Paltz
Administration
David Bernsley
Monroe-Woodbury High School
Melinda Murdock
Riverside Elementary School
Elementary
Stephanie Brown
Silas Wood 6th Grade Center
Jillian Coster
Miller Avenue School
Suzanne Johnson
Riverside Elementary School
Debra Iannelli
Morris Central School
Glenna Raskin
Fairfield Elementary School
Lisa Levenson
Park Avenue School
Middle
Jamie De Leon
The Laboratory School for Finance and Technology
Kea Grabinski
Westbury Middle School
Grace Hazenbush
Linden Avenue Middle School
Meredith Levine
Grand Avenue Middle School
Amanda Steele
Island Trees Memorial Middle School
Kayla Witman
Waverly Middle School
Secondary
Stephanie Buckhout
Putnam/ Northern Westchester BOCES
Linda Ciaffone
Floral Park Memorial High School
Rachel Cook
Norwood-Norfolk Central School
Christopher DiLeo
Marlboro Central High School
Kevin Dineen
Commack High School
Carol Durkin
Monroe-Woodbury High School
Maria Favre
Ward Melville High School
Corinna Heggen
Schenectady High School
Thomas Kenney
Briarcliff High School
Marissa Lattanzio
The Laboratory School for Finance and Technology
John Mitchell
Shoreham-Wading River High School
Alison Paley
Ballston Spa Central School District
Tracy Pontin
Schalmont High School
Claudia Rudnet
Mineola High School
Amy Salamone
Guilderland High School
Daniel Sheffield
John F. Kennedy High School
Sally Ventura
Olean High School
Marjorie Vigliotti
Oyster Bay High School
College Essay Workshop Night
Massapequa High School
Massapequa CSD
Senior Experience
Calhoun High School & Mepham High School
Bellmore-Merrick CSD
Michael Laterza
Westlake High School
Vincent Iovane
Westlake High School
Patti Brown
Olean High School
Stephen Sorensen
Olean High School
Yornell Aguiar
Oceanside High School
Kathleen Holden
Oceanside High School
Jason Manning
Oceanside High School
Todd Nussen
Oceanside High School
Lori Lebel
Schenectady High School
Dara Rhodes
Milford Central School
Julene Waffle
Morris Central School
2022 Sara Taveniere Moy
2019 Michelle Peterson-Davis
2018 Louisa Kramer-Vida
2017 Michelle G. Bulla
2016 Erik Sweet
2015 Janet Matthews
2014 Dr. Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs
2013 Paul O’Brien
2012 Lawrence Butti
2011 Patti Rand
2010 Donna Meister
2009 Susan P. Kelly
2008 John Harmon
2007 Donna Kemp
2006 Lillian Turner
2005 Barbara Searle
2004 Judith Rothstein
2003 Jill Vickers
2002 Susan Goldberg
2001 Victor Jaccarino
2000 Jacqueline Marino
1999 Natalie Robisch
1998 Jane Richards
1997 Nancy Zuwiyya
1996 Rosalie Rafter
1995 Roseanne DaFabio
1994 Kenneth Gambone
1993 Frank Hodge
1992 Cecelia Kingston
1990 Jerome Greenberg, Ann Gebhard
1989 Barbara Aitken
1988 Joanne Wallace
1986 John Andola
1985 Charles R. Chew
1984 Carol Jamieson, Robert Spencer Johnson
1983 C. J. Calitri
1981 Grace Larkin
1980 Anita Dore
1979 Ouida Clapp, Elouise Courter, M. Drabkin
1978 Jerome Green
1977 Sally Ann Milgrim, Alan Nelson
1976 Anthony Mangione
1975 Martha Hatch
1974 Morris Finder, Patrick Kilburn, J.S. Sherwin
1973 Daniel Casy, Sheila Schwartz
1972 Margaret Early, Emmanuel Raff
1971 John C. Flahwe, Dennis Hannan
1970 Ruth E. Everett, Robert Squires
1969 Rev. John V. Curry, Jane Borst, Robert Carruthers
1968 Mary Dedie, M. L’Amoreaux, Erwin Palmer
1967 David Manly, E. Mitchell
1966 Mary Foley, Milacent G. Ocvirk, Robert Rounds
1965 Hans Gottschalk, James Lanz
1964 Marguerite Driscoll, Margaret Dwyer, Rosemary Wagner
1963 Richard Corbin, Earl Harlon, Genevieve Heffron
1962 Elizabeth Drake, Strang Lawson, Joseph E. Mersand