Stamford Honors Teacher Of The Year Finalists, Spotlight Teachers

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford Public Schools (SPS) this week announced the outstanding teachers thorughout the district who are being honored in its annual Teacher of the Year and Spotlight Award Program.

A total of 54 individuals and teams were nominated by their peers, from which the Teacher of the Year and Spotlight Award Program Committee selected five Teacher of the Year finalists, two semi-finalists and 20 Spotlight Award winners.

After reviewing all nominations and interviewing the Teacher of the Year candidates, the committee named the following five as Finalists:

• Brie O'Bryan, APPLES Preschool Special Education teacher
• Danielle Jeffries, Westhill High School Agriscience teacher
• Tiffany Clark, Stamford High School Social Studies teacher
• Susan Dougherty, Stamford High School Special Education teacher
• Camille Spaulding, Cloonan Middle School seventh grade Social Studies teacher

The two Teacher of the Year Semifinalists are Paul LaQuesse, Academy of Information Technology & Engineering Math teacher, and Ronet Noe, Newfield Elementary Art teacher.

Each of the five finalists is required to submit a 30-minuted taped class lesson for review by the committee. The committee will consider the videos, along with the interview and all other materials submitted during the course of the process, to choose the First Finalist and the Teacher of the Year.

As part of its nomination review process, the Teacher of the Year and Spotlight Award Program Committee has chosen the following outstanding teachers as this year’s Spotlight Winners:

• Don Barbour, Northeast Elementary
• Maria Guzda, Hart Magnet Elementary
• Renae Boothroyd, Toquam Magnet Elementary
• Donna Kaiser, Stamford High
• Melissa Castiglia, Toquam Magnet Elementary
• Elisavet Kousidis, Rippowam Middle
• Paul Cusano, Stamford High
• Sarah Lane, Springdale Elementary
• Sara Defilippo, Roxbury Elementary
• Chris Miller, Rippowam Middle School
• Miranda DePoi, Alternate Routes to Success (ARTS)
• Kerry Murphy, Turn of River Middle
• Mark DeSimone, Rippowam Middle
• John Pelizzari, Dolan Middle
• Tamara Dilworth, Westhill High
• Stephen Staley, Rogers International
• Emily Fields, Toquam Magnet Elementary
• Susie Stoogenke, Newfield Elementary
• Tammy Friedman, Cloonan Middle
• Vincent Tiscia, Toquam Magnet Elementary

Nominations were solicited December through January. The Teacher of the Year and Spotlight Award Program committee members evaluated all submissions based on the following criteria: Outstanding Teaching, Exceptional Student Support, Exemplary Community Involvement and Positive Influence on School Culture. From among the submissions, the committee chose 20 individuals to be honored with a Spotlight Award, as well as the more exclusive group to be considered for Teacher of the Year.

On May 10, 2018, SPS will host a celebration to honor the Teacher of the Year, Finalists, Semi-finalists and Spotlight Award Winners.

Stamford Public Schools (SPS) comprises nearly 16,000 students, over 1,500 professionals, and 21 schools, including seven magnet schools and three International Baccalaureate sites. SPS has a total of 13 elementary schools, five middle schools and three high schools. The mission of the Stamford Public Schools is to provide an education that cultivates productive habits of mind, body and heart in every student.

SPS is proud that our district is as rich in diversity as it is in talent. We have students from many cultural backgrounds and geographic locations—as demonstrated by the more than 65 different languages spoken in the homes of our families. SPS offers our students a learning experience rich in cultural diversity and reflective of the global society in which they will work and live.

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