My candidate heads the ninth grade transition team for Magnet, assist colleagues (from history, science, and English) monitors freshman student progress and plans intervention for troubled students as well as recognition for successful students. Candidate runs freshman cluster meetings, coordinates sharing of information about student services, new instructional strategies (coordinates implementation, i.e. Seven Habit of Highly Effective Teens) meetings. Candidate works closely with English teachers to coordinate students learning in order to reinforce what is being taught, and for the student to see consistency and improvements as well as significance of that particular skill, and shares successful and effective lessons or strategies with anyone who wants them.

Mrs. Rua is one of the most dedicated teachers I’ve had the opportunity to know. Her passion for her subject matter and her students make her a perfect candidate for teacher of recognition. She believes that absolutely every child can learn and cares enough to find the means to reach each student and there is no one size fits all education. In the end both “low level” and “honors” classes take and perform successfully on the same mandatory history tests. Enforces that learning can be fun and finds creative way of immersing students in history (uses “caste system game” to teach about Ancient India, Lords and Ladies of the Middle Ages, rate a monarch). She also provides freshman with tremendous structure to faster success by using an interactive notebook adopted from History Alive! Mrs. Rua truly believes that not successful teacher even stops learning-and always seeks to learn from colleagues and experts in order to improve as a teacher.

Nomination by :
George Bella
Central H.S. Art Teacher