School of Education confers seven recipients with Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

NEW PALTZ – The State University of New York at New Paltz’s School of Education held their annual reception and awards presentation for the recipients of this year’s Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching on Monday, Sept. 19 in the Terrace on New Paltz campus.

New Paltz’s School of Education has been a leader in training reflective and critical educators who have responded creatively to the changing demographics of student populations for over the last century. The School’s contribution to the role of public education and the formulation of policy objectives has been shaped by its values of scholarship, quality, integrity, diversity and equality.

Since 1984, the School of Education has collaborated with school districts to honor teachers in the Mid-Hudson Valley who have attained exceptional standards in their professional careers. The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching honors excellence, innovation, service, professionalism, commitment and enthusiasm. It acknowledges the integral role that teachers play in our community where they foster the ideals of learning, inquiry and the primacy of education as a foundation for intellectual, social and economic well being. The School of Education honors exceptional teachers throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley as part of its objective to recognize and foster excellence, not only among its own alumni, but among the broader community of teachers in the Mid-Hudson Valley.

Teachers who receive this annual award are recommended by area school administrators and selected by a committee of education faculty and professionals. Criteria for this award require teachers to have made a significant impact on students’ lives, on their learning outcomes and growth, and to the school environment. The nominees are highly regarded by their supervisors, colleagues, parents and their students.

This year the School expanded the Dean’s Award nomination to include a category recognizing outstanding engagement and impassioned teaching in a teacher’s early career. This addition recognizes that all stages of teachers’ careers are essential to their professional development and to their success in serving communities’ youth.

Recipients of the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching receive an honorary appointment as an adjunct clinical professor with the School of Education.

This year’s recipients are:

Judith Ambrosetti, Bachelor of Science, SUNY New Paltz; Master of Science, SUNY New Paltz
Newburgh Enlarged City School District
Horizons-on-the-Hudson Magnet School
Kindergarten

Donna Carbone, Bachelor of Arts, Mount St. Mary; Master of Arts, Mount St. Mary
Orange-Ulster BOCES
Raymond C. Cramer Elementary
Self-contained Special Education, Grades 6-8

Stephanie DeRobertis, Bachelor of Science, SUNY New Paltz; Master of Science, SUNY New Paltz
Early-Career Teacher Award
Chester Union Free School District
Chester Academy, Grade 6

Jack Etter, Bachelor of Science, Dominican College; Master of Science, New York Institute of Technology
Monticello Central School District
Robert J. Kaiser Middle School/Monticello High School
Instructional Technology Integration, Grades 6-12

Tamara Realmuto-Diaz, Bachelor of Science, SUNY Albany; Master of Science, SUNY New Paltz
Orange-Ulster BOCES
Career and Technical Center
Technical Reading & Writing, Grades 11 and 12

Fabien L. Riviere
Early Career Teacher Award
Goshen Central School District
C. J. Hooker Middle School
French and Spanish, Grades 7 and 8

William A. Yager Jr., Bachelor of Science, SUNY Cortland; Master of Science, SUNY Cortland
Millbrook Central School District
Alden Place Elementary School, Grade 5