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
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
Paige Meschon
Schalmont High School
Grade 11
“Untitled”
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
Each year, the Executive Board of the New York State English Council recognizes a member of the council for giving unconditionally to the membership and the students of New York State.
The Executive Board of the New York State English Council has chosen Michelle Peterson-Davis for the 2019 Fellow Award. We honor Michelle for her dedication to education and for her outstanding service to the Council.
From her early years as an educator in the classroom, Michelle has made the recognition of each student a priority. In Finley Middle School, she taught eighth grade English to heterogeneous classes and both created and implemented curriculum for the Special Education Inclusion Program. As English Department Chair in the Jonas E. Salk Middle School, Michelle coordinated the implementation of the Reading Plus program in seventh and eighth grade AIS reading classes. While serving as Assistant Principal at Park Avenue School, she took great pride in organizing a “bear drive” so that every student “would have a stuffed bear as part of our Be Excited About Reading” unit. A strong believer in the home-school connection, Michelle has worked collaboratively with Parent Teacher Associations and with mental health teams to support positive behavior in students. As a Board member of NYSEC, she meets with NYSED to discuss English Language Arts goals and provide feedback from the field.
Michelle has a passion for learning and for sharing what she has learned. A member of NCTE, NYSEC, LILAC, and other vital educational organizations, she is always eager to attend conferences, listen to what others have to offer, and present her own workshops, sharing her wisdom with teachers and administrators. At NYSEC, she has served as President and as Conference Chair, and, maybe most significantly, has always been willing to mentor others who are learning their roles.
No quality better characterizes Michelle than her smile and her laugh, which can light up a room. Her smile is one of hope and promise and belief, and she shares that with all. We on the NYSEC Board thank Michelle for her service to the Board and to educators throughout the State.
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