North Street School K-5 Art teacher, Cheryl Iozzo has been selected as a semifinalist in the 2015 Connecticut Teacher of the Year (CT-ToY) program.
As a semifinalist, Dr. Iozzo will meet with members of the selection committee in Hartford on September 18 for an interview and to give a brief presentation on a pre-assigned topic.
After the committee selects the finalists for the next stage of the process, the Commissioner is then scheduled to announce the 2015 CT Teacher of the Year on October 6.
“Dr. Iozzo exemplifies all that is excellent in the Greenwich schools: expert in her subject matter, adept at working across disciplines, constantly looking to improve her knowledge and teaching, and ultimately focused first and foremost on her students,” said Dr. McKersie in a release. “This is the fourth consecutive year that we have had a teacher participating in the CT-ToY selection process achieve at least the semifinalist round. We are all proud of Cheryl and wish her the very best in Hartford later this month.”
Of Iozzo, North Street School Principal Jill Flood noted, “She is an exemplary educator and an inspiration to us all. Students leave their K-5 North Street School experience with a lifelong appreciation for the creative problem solving skills that she provides through the visual arts.”
Connecticut Teacher of the Year Selection Process:
The Connecticut Teacher of the Year Program is designed to recognize and honor the contributions of our state’s classroom teachers. The program does not attempt to select the “best” teacher, but rather identifies, from among the many outstanding teachers of the year, one teacher to serve as a visible and vocal representative of what is best in the profession. The process by which the Connecticut Teacher of the Year is selected consists of three stages.
In the first stage, local nominee application packages are read and rated by members of the selection committee (due in August). In the second stage, semifinalists are invited to an interview and are asked to make a formal presentation on a pre-assigned topic (September). In the third stage the selection committee visits the selected finalists at their schools for an equal period of time (September/October.) School visits include classroom observations, interviews with students, professional and support staff, administrators and parents. After site visits, the 2015 Connecticut Teacher of the Year is named
(scheduled for October 6, 2014). http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2678&q=320782
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Greenwich Public Schools Selection Process for Representative in CT 2015 Teacher of the Year
Program
Dr. Iozzo was one of the six teachers selected and honored by the Greenwich Distinguished Teachers Awards Committee, Inc. (DTAC) in April/May 2014, after a comprehensive nomination and review process. The Greenwich DTAC, a nonprofit organization, was established in 1984 to recognize and celebrate excellence among the dedicated teaching staff of the Greenwich Public Schools.
The Superintendent of Schools is subsequently charged with selecting from among the six Distinguished Teachers annually, the one teacher that will represent Greenwich in the CT Teacher of the Year program. In May 2014, Dr. McKersie reviewed the nomination packets submitted for each of the Distinguished Teachers, spent time in each of their classrooms, debriefed the observations with each teacher and with their principal, and reviewed essays submitted as part of the selection process. In June 2014, Dr. McKersie announced Dr. Iozzo as the Greenwich Representative for the 2015 CT Teacher of the Year program.
Dr. Iozzo is responsible for bringing the Creative Connections program to North Street School, which connects 5th graders to a classroom in a remote area of
Guatemala. The children learn about a different culture through art, pen pal writing and the opportunity for class–to-class conversations via Skype. One of Dr. Iozzo’s 5th grade students, Grace Fahey, summed her up best in a note written for teacher appreciation week; “Dr. Iozzo never has a boring art activity. They are always fun and interesting. She is fair and open-minded. She never lets anyone down if they are looking for good ideas or have questions.”
Dr. Iozzo began teaching in 1994, and has taught art from a transdisciplinary approach with students in elementary and middle school since that time. She has been with the Greenwich Public Schools for most of her career as an educator, teaching at Central Middle School and North Street School among others. She is a CT BEST/TEAM Mentor for new teachers, and has been a Cooperating Teacher at the College of New Rochelle, NY and Teachers College at Columbia University, NYC. She is currently the District’s Art Liaison for the Central and Western Network Schools.
Dr. Iozzo received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts followed by a Master of Arts in Teaching (Visual Arts) from the Rode School of Design. She went on to earn a Doctorate and Masters in Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition to facilitating many student art exhibitions with Greenwich Public Schools, Art on the Avenue and Cos Cob Library, Dr. Iozzo herself has participated in exhibitions at Teachers College, Columbia University, Greenwich Faculty Art Show as well as in galleries. Dr. Iozzo has also taught at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art in New York City as well as at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich.
Dr. Iozzo was selected by the Greenwich Distinguished Teachers Awards Committee, Inc. as one of six 2014 Greenwich Distinguished Teachers in April 2014, and as the Greenwich representative for the CT Teacher of the Year program by Superintendent of Schools William S. McKersie in June 2014.