Eleven Earn SUNY Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

NEW PALTZ — Eleven teachers from mid-Hudson public schools and the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) will be honored with the 1999 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching from the State University of New York at New Paltz on September 15. In announcing the list of honorees, Robert Michael, dean of education, noted that this year’s recipients range from seasoned veteran teachers with more than 30 years of experience to teachers very new to the profession. “We selected teachers who demonstrate their commitment to teaching, to excellence, and most importantly,” he added, ” to our children and their education.”

The 11 teachers will be recognized at a 4:30 p.m. ceremony to be held on the campus at the Terrace Restaurant. Each individual will receive an honorary appointment as adjunct clinical professor within the School of Education. Recipients will also be recognized by the Mid-Hudson School Study Council at a ceremony this fall.

The 1999 award winners, their schools and districts are listed below.

Phillip Adamson, a technology teacher at Crispell Middle School in the Pine Bush Central School District, was selected for his work in enhancing the teaching of technology to Crispell Middle School students through his emphasis on problem solving and his work to increase the storehouse of activities and strategies for developing student skills in technology.

Lynn Caporale, a fourth grade teacher at George Grant Mason Elementary School in the Tuxedo Union Free School District, was recognized for her work in preparing her students and the curriculum to meet the higher standards required this year by the state, her workshops for parents, and her contributions to her school community.

Diane Foster, a first grade teacher at Livingston Manor Elementary, was honored for her work meeting new standards and introducing innovative strategies in teaching math and language arts.

Joseph Fracalossi, biology and health teacher at Valley Central High School, was cited for his revisions of the health curriculum, including the teaching of HIV/AIDS prevention, and for his work to develop computer simulations which permit students who object to animal dissection to complete their requirements.

Catherine Hamilton, a health teacher at Warwick Valley High School, was selected for her contributions to her school and district, including her coordination of its Students Against Drunk Driving program.

Susan Lopez-Addarich, a fourth grade teacher in the West Haverstraw Elementary School in the Haverstraw Stony Point Central Schools, was recognized for her dedication to the creation of a student-centered learning environment in her classroom, incorporating a thorough understanding of the standards and of the different ways children learn.

Charles Powers, a fifth grade teacher at Fishkill Elementary School in the Wappingers Central School District, was cited for his work energizing his classroom and school, his perceptive use of cooperative learning, his work on training students in peer mediation, and his work training faculty and parents.

Richard Price, a business and computer technology teacher at Ulster County BOCES VO-TEC, was honored for his interdisciplinary approach to preparing students for the business world, emphasizing skills in technical literacy and writing, in addition to computer skills.

Barbara J. Ulm, an eighth grade science teacher at Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School in the Croton-Harmon School District, was recognized for her engaging and exciting teaching style and her extensive work on the study of girls’ experiences in learning science.

Robert J. Wilson, an English teacher at Suffern High School in the Ramapo Central School District, was selected for his inspirational teaching of students with widely varying academic abilities and for his ability to incorporate linguistics into his teaching of the standard English curriculum.

Emil Zullo, a social studies teacher at Kingston High School, was cited for his imaginative and dynamic teaching of legal and constitutional issues, including mock trial team coaching and development of grants to allow extracurricular activities in the legal field.

The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching was instituted 16 years ago to honor outstanding area teachers. For more information, please call the Office of the Dean of Education at the State University of New York at New Paltz at (845) 257-2800.