Regina Tottenham of the Brooklyn Transition middle,a high school in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and was awarded the Teaching Matters Elizabeth Rohatyn Prize on Thursday. Tottenham said the $25000 prize would allow the school to expand a mentoring program that pairs novice (one who is just a beginner at some activity requiring skill and experience) teachers with more experienced ones.“We always have to carve money out for teachers,” she told WNYC. “But to have this is just such a essential luxury that I wish could have every year. It’s wonderful. Im just so excited.”The prize came from Teaching Matters, a non-profit that helps public school teachers develop their skills and improve their performance.
Tottenham had worked in special education for over a decade before fitting Brooklyn Transition's principal in 2011. She developed the mentoring program after realizing 42 percent of her teachers had less than five years experience and most of the others were close to retiring.
She said working with special education students is taxing, or can really put a strain on original teachers. One of the best ways to help them is giving them a buddy. The prize was open to public school principals from the original York metropolitan area,which includes original Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania."We want schools who reflect they're doing much work to let us know, or " said Naomi Cooperman of Teaching Matters.
Source: wnyc.org