Say hello to your 2014 teacher, assistant principal and principal of the year

Rachel D’Amato, a seventh- and eighth-grade special education teacher from Don Mensendick, was honored as the Glendale Elementary School District’s Teacher of the Year in a ceremony this evening. Also honored were Challenger's Michelle Brady as the Assistant Principal of the year, and Melvin E. Sine's Principal of the year.

D'Amato has spent her seven years in education teaching in GESD, all at Mensendick.

“I have always known that I was meant to work with young people, but early in my life I decided that I could do this by volunteering as a mentor or tutor — not as a career path,” D’Amato wrote in her nomination essay. “When I received my first real job offers, I accepted a position doing grant writing/public relations with a well-known non-profit organization that advocated for youth in at-risk communities . . . After more than five years working in the non-profit world, I realized that I received more joy from my direct work with kids that I did from writing grants and press releases. It was clear to me that I was supposed to be a teacher for the young people who were, perhaps, in most need of quality instruction — those with special needs.”

In D’Amato’s class, you can dispense with the clichés about special education students, and get ready to work.

“To me, special education is not about playing games and singing songs — it’s about closing the gap,” she said. “As a special education teacher, I think my greatest accomplishments have been my daily endeavors to be creative, flexible, sensitive to the needs of my students, and ready to collaborate with my general education counterparts in order to help the students who receive special education services to academically succeed.

“My first message in my special education classroom is this: all students can lean in our classroom community. No student is permitted to say ‘I can’t’ — every student can succeed.”

D’Amato has been part of Mensendick’s Parent Engagement Committee, and currently serves as co-secretary of the school’s PTA. She also works with Girls On the Run and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship to bring after-school programming to Mensendick.

GESD PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR

Melvin E. Sine’s Tish Mineer was recognized at GESD’s Principal of the Year.

Mineer was nominated for the honor by several members of the Sine staff, who praised her for her ability to build an inclusive culture, support her staff, recognize accomplishments, to be open to creative learning solutions and to create a welcoming campus.

“Her mantra is to ensure student learning anyway we can, and that is our mission statement as well,” said Math Achievement Advisor Renee Catalano in nominating Mineer. “Every student, parent, volunteer and staff member from teacher to cafeteria worker knows her goal is to make sure that all students grow and stretch academically.”

GESD ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR

Challenger’s Michelle Brady was recognized as GESD’s Assistant Principal of the Year.

Brady was nominated by Challenger Principal Tiffany Molina. Molina cited Brady’s passion for children, flexibility, knowledge and experience in providing Challenger students with a safe, positive and challenging school environment. he also noted her work on the development and implementation of Challenger’s Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, a continuous improvement plan for the school, and in developing and implementing Challenger’s school-wide discipline program.

“Ms. Brady’s visionary leadership style and dedication to students is inspiring,” Molina said. “She has been influential in helping to shape and enhance Challenger’s culture to better serve the needs of our students and families.”