Seventh Grade Mathematics Teacher

I couldn't wait to get to my Hebrew school class every week because Ms. Berkoff was the most engaging teacher I ever had. Her passion for teaching was evident and from that moment on I had a desire to teach and shape young minds. I followed in her footsteps and continued my Jewish education upon becoming a Bat Mitzvah at the age of thirteen and graduated from Gratz Hebrew High School and became a Hebrew School Teacher.

During my college years I explored several different career paths, however I ultimately knew that teaching and inspiring young minds the same way Ms. Berkoff did would bring me happiness.

One of my greatest accomplishments was when I received a letter from a former student thanking me for being a kind, caring teacher that didn't give up on her. She struggled throughout elementary, middle school and part of High School. The letter was thanking me for always believing in her and pushing her to do "her best"!  She apologized in the letter for being so defiant and wanted me to know that although time had passed since she was my student, she was getting ready to graduate High School and would be attending college.

I love that I'm able to support my students through their struggles and that as they grow and mature, they realize the positive impact that it had on them.

I have always had a passion for working with children. I feel that I make a positive impact in and out of the classroom. I love watching the excitement when my students finally grasp a mathematical concept as well as their curiosity when they are working together solving problems. I believe that our students learn from making mistakes and embed this into our daily classroom routines.

Every week we have a morning meeting. As a class we share our thoughts on a particular question. The class is so engaged is the discussion and love sharing with everyone. The discussions are eye opening, and we learn a lot about each other. I teach in a predominately low-income school made up mostly of Hispanic and African American students. We were talking about a special time in our lives. My special time was my son's Bar Mitzvah. I turned this into a lesson. I was so happy to see the excitement and curiosity among all of the students. They shared the similarities and differences between a Bar Mitzvah and a Communion. It was a learning experience for the students as well as me. The children were able to make connections of how similar humans are no matter their race or religion.

I like to think that I make a positive impact on my students even when I find teaching to be a challenge.

Classroom Assistant – Special Education

After years of working in a company, being a mother of four and coming from a large family, I have always taken pleasure in helping my kids and grandchildren learn. Education has always been a priority in our home. As my children grew up, I was given the opportunity to relive those years of my life when the company I was working for decided to close their doors leaving me without a job. When I expressed to my family that the company which I was working for was going to close down, one of my daughters, who was a teacher at that time, suggested that I work in the field of education. She influenced me to obtain my paraprofessional certificate, which I did. I was skeptical at first because of my dominant Spanish language, but deep within me I wanted to continue to feel that joy of working with children as I did with my own. I've been hired as a Paraprofessional in the Elizabeth School District ever since. My greatest joy is observing students grow academically and working collaboratively with the staff at my school.

As a classroom assistant, I support the teacher within the classroom. I facilitate day-to-day learning activities and provide individualized attention to students. My responsibilities include supervising, supporting lesson plans, and providing instruction within the classroom. I assist the teacher in preparing teaching materials, supporting student instruction, and working one on one with students or in small groups. I ensure student safety and maintain discipline. In addition, I make sure students have an organized and clean learning environment.