Premier's Teaching Excellence Awards for supporting, inspiring youth

May 3, 2011

by Jennifer Sipos-Smith

Do you know a teacher who:

• builds strong relationships with parents and the community to help students learn?
• encourages students to take risks and solve problems in creative ways?
• is an outstanding role model to colleagues and leads by example?
• builds on success and inspires others to overcome challenges?
• makes all students feel welcome?
• fosters an environment of equity and respect for all?
• makes a profound impact on students' intellectual, social and emotional development?
• transforms lives?

The Premier's Teaching Excellence Awards for 2010-2011 value these qualities and recognizes four OISE teachers among its most recent honorees. The Premier's Teaching Excellence Award recipients for 2010-2011 include:

• Carmelina Martin (B.Ed. 1993), Teacher of the Year
• Dagney Gardiner (B.Ed. 2008), New Teacher of the Year
• Paul Alcamo (B.Ed. 1992), and Lori Anne Kado, Team of the Year

OISE prioritizes the importance of teaching and this acknowledgment of the accomplishments of our alumni is a great honour for the Institute.

Carmelina Martin, B.Ed., 1993, teaches at John Fraser Secondary School in the Peel District School Board, and is one of three recipients of the Teacher of the Year Award. She is a charismatic arts educator with an infectious passion for dance. She has inspired creativity in her students for more than 17 years. Whether choreographing the school dance showcase, spearheading a provincial youth dance conference or leading workshops, she knows how to engage students. Carmelina exposes students to the professional world of dance by inviting guest artists into her classroom. She is committed to professional development and works tirelessly to educate and mentor teachers across the province. Carmelina has also contributed to the Ontario Arts Curriculum.

Dagney Gardiner, B.Ed. 2008, who teaches at James S. Bell Junior Middle School in the Toronto District School Board, is one of three New Teacher of the Year Award recipients. Dagney's students consider her classroom a “home-away-from-home.”  An advocate for students with behavioural and social-emotional difficulties, Dagney joined James S. Bell Junior Middle School in 2008 as an intermediate behaviour teacher. She quickly developed an innovative classroom fitness program that helps students increase their focus while reducing negative behaviours. The program received coverage in The Toronto Star and was featured on CBC. She is leading a demonstration classroom where other teachers can learn from her work.

Paul Alcamo, B.Ed. 1992, and Lori Anne Kado work with a diverse group of students and bring out the very best in every child they teach. As the teachers at the Dr Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study-Bloorview School Integrated Kindergarten Program, they lead a class that enables students with disabilities to learn with their peers. They use innovative ways to deliver the curriculum so that every single child can participate and learn – from designing inclusive playgrounds to digging for dinosaur bones in the classroom. They turn their classroom into a welcoming and respectful community of students, staff and families.