Simsbury Department of Continuing Education Long-Time Educator Named CAACE Adult Educator of the Year

The Simsbury Department of Continuing Education (DCE) is pleased to announce that Mike Angelillo has received the Adult Educator of the Year Award from the Connecticut Association for Adult & Continuing Education (CAACE). The award is presented to “educators who have contributed above and beyond the normal expectations of an adult educator, have demonstrated consistent dedication and service to adult education students and have been involved in innovative programming.”

“Mr. Mike,” as his students refer to him, has taught adult students in the Simsbury Adult Education Program since 1973. For over 43 years he has been teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Americanization & Citizenship classes, helping those who wish to become citizens of the United States achieve their dream.

Said Angelillo, “I realize that this award is for being an educator, but there is so much more than just a teacher-student relationship that happens here. We really are an extended family more than anything else.”

According to State Mandated Supervisor Paul Kulikowski, Angelillo provides a “safe place” for students, a “place of non-judgment and open communication where they can be themselves, share their backgrounds, and learn together as an international family… Mike knows that if he provides his students with skills, confidence, and a love for learning, they will soar.”

DCE Director Dave Krum calls Angelillo “the consummate educator, whose classroom ‘oozes’ with genuine excitement and enthusiasm on a daily basis.”

Outside of the classroom, said Krum, this dedicated teacher maintains a network of personal contacts that he can call on when his students need help adjusting to life in America. In fact, prior to ever arriving in the United States, many foreign students already have been advised by Mike’s former students to make sure they enroll in his classes!

“In all Mike’s years of teaching,” noted Kulikowski, “his enthusiasm as an educator has never wavered. He still has the same level of commitment and drive as he did when he first began. And he shows no signs of slowing down!”

Angelillo will be presented with his award at CAACE’s annual awards luncheon on March 31st from 1:00–2:30PM at the Mystic Marriott Hotel in Groton.

(Photo by Paul Kulikowsi)