My Town Tutors is the nation’s 1st National Directory of teachers who tutor. Our goal in 2014 is to expand our network of local teachers who tutor!
Our Connected Educator Series is being sponsored by Grade Success! Grade Success has provided the most successful educational services for students of all ages in Rockland, Bergen and Orange counties for over 25 years. It is also great for teachers who might be interested in learning about the one-minute educator series.
One of our most popular posts is our Connected Educators list. Our followers love connected educators who are willing to share there knowledge and experience, however our list only includes twitter profiles. Many of our followers want to learn more about some of these incredible individuals!
To keep it simple, we started this blog with the launch of @mytowntutorsNY. Click on the name to read the full interview.
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Carol Varsalona: New York Educator of the Week

What is your current job of position?

ELA Consultant

What is your educational background?

PD: Professional Diploma-School District Administration Dowling College, Oakdale, NY
CAS: Specialist in Reading SUNY at Albany, Albany, NY
MS: Developmental Reading SUNY at Albany, Albany, NY
BA: English Education SUNY at Albany, Albany, NY

Describe your educational philosophy and educational vision?

As a lifelong learner, I am passionate about providing strategies and tools to impact K-12 teaching and learning. Through the blending of theory and research with best classroom practices and reflective strategies, I am ardent about inviting vigor and engagement into education to redesign the literacy landscape.

REFLECTION ON EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

The educational leader is a principle-centered traveler on a journey of personal growth, who gracefully moves into a learning community to embrace and affect change- A visionary with a soul, a creative problem solver, who carefully creates a culture of trust through team learning and an emphasis on shared vision- A promoter of teaching and learning, a communicator, who continually reflects and empowers others to achieve. The educational leader is both a learner and a transferor of knowledge who assesses, applies, and moves forward on the road to instructional change.

How do you grow and engage your professional learning network?

Being a co-moderator of #NYDChat has lead me to network with educators across the country. From these contacts, connections have grown and professional development opportunities occurred. This is evidenced by the opening of the 1st tri-state chat, #NJNYCOL, that aired on June 3, 2014 and trended on Twitter across the United States. I was one of three lead moderators.

What is the greatest benefit of your professional network?

The greatest benefit is having the opportunity to be part of a growing network of passionate educators across the country who are committed to impacting teaching teaching and learning.

If you blog, what is the focus of it? How long have you been writing? Who is your audience?

On July 24, 2013 i opened a blog site, Beyond LiteracyLink (http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/), a dedicated space to ponder, reflect, and converse about life, literacy, and learning. My audience is educators, poets, writers, and also professionals from fields other than teaching.

How do you use social media to connect with other educators? What is your advice to teachers on social media and education?

Social media is a great connector that links educators together to form an unbreakable bond as future change agents.
My advice is to become a connected educator, to expand your horizons and meet individuals who share the same passionate reasons for entering the profession.

What advice in general do you have to teachers today?

I encourage teachers to become reflective practitioners of learning, embrace change, and fearlessly and passionately make learning and the standards of the Common Core come alive in their classes so that they can develop students who are critical thinkers, readers, speakers and writers, problem solvers, and creative decision makers.

Describe a teacher who has had a significant impact on your professional development?

Laura Robb has been an inspiration to me. I have followed her carefully for the last decade. Her advice, encouragement, and wisdom has helped me formulate ideas on how to improve literacy on a district level. From her mentorship, I have grown as an educator. I even had the privilege of presenting with her and Debbie Diller at a NCTE Convention.

What book would you recommend to teachers?

There are so many that have informed my teaching, learning, and leading but a recent favorite is Teach Like A Pirate by Dave Burgess.

 

I am a follower of Laura Robbs’ books.