Mayo Selects Greenwich Schools Rep for 2020 CT Teacher of The Year Program

Superintendent of Schools Ralph Mayo has announced the selection of Ms. Crystal Kitselman, Grade 3 teacher at North Mianus School, as the Greenwich Public Schools representative for the 2020 Connecticut Teacher of the Year program.

Ms. Kitselman will be recognized by the Board of Education at the June 13, 2019 meeting at Cos Cob School, 6:00pm.

Mr. Mayo said, “One of the most difficult decisions I have had to make as Superintendent was in selecting our candidate for the Connecticut Teacher of the Year program. Each of our Distinguished Teachers would have been a wonderful representative for our District. I chose Ms. Kitselman due to her skillful and seemingly effortless ability to make learning personal for each and every student in her classroom. Her classroom is a place where students make exceptional growth on a daily basis. The hands-on learning that these students experience will not be forgotten as they engage in projects in all subject areas in such a way that the learning comes alive for them. The students in this classroom work extremely well together as they share with one another and demonstrate respect for both their classmates and their teachers. Ms. Kitselman has embraced the true spirit of making learning personal and I for one would have loved to have been in a class where the teacher guided the learning rather than directed it.”

Ms. Kitselman will also be honored by the Distinguished Teachers Awards Committee and by the Greenwich Kiwanis Club at the June 13 Board of Education meeting. The Kiwanis Club will present Ms. Kitselman with the Joseph Mitchell Kaye Award. Mr. Kaye was a past President of the Greenwich Kiwanis Club, a Lieutenant Governor of the Kiwanis Club for the New England District, and served on the Greenwich Board of Education.

Ms. Kitselman is one of the six teachers selected and honored by the Distinguished Teachers Awards Committee this year in April. The Superintendent of Schools is charged with selecting from among the six Distinguished Teachers annually, the one teacher that will represent Greenwich in the State’s program.

Throughout the months of May and June, Mr. Mayo reviewed the nomination packets submitted for the Distinguished Teachers eligible for and participating in the District process for the State’s program; spent time in each of their classrooms; and reviewed essays submitted as part of the selection process.