– Glendale, AZ (August 2018)
As part of the ‘Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow’ initiative, Ombudsman recognizes educators each quarter who take learning to the next level by engaging their students in a 21st century hands-on or collaborative manner. Those recognized are educators who strive to make learning meaningful by pushing students to be inquisitive and work beyond the basic curriculum.
First Place Winner – Heather Lynn, Metro Charter (Glendale, Az)
Our first-place winner this quarter is Mrs. Heather Lynn of our Charter Metro location (pictured above). She demonstrates how innovation and student engagement can take place anywhere in a school. Mrs. Lynn is an Outreach Specialist who oversees enrollment and retention at our second largest Arizona campus. During the summer months, she created opportunities for students, staff, and community members to participate in developments focused on both academic and personal well-being. Starting late last year and throughout summer, Charter Metro hosted a variety of programs focused on areas such as suicide prevention, CPR/First Aid certification, and FAFSA support – thanks in large part to Mrs. Heather Lynn’s work. She also implemented a strategic and systematic approach to reaching out to families regarding consecutive absences and event notifications, resulting in stronger ties between the school and the surrounding community.
Runner Up – Christine Bergamo, Valencia Charter (Tucson, Az)
Ms. Bergamo, who joined Ombudsman just last year, teaches Freshman and Sophomore English at our Charter Valencia location. To increase student engagement, her students were provided a menu of project options to demonstrate their key takeaways of Romeo and Juliet, when studying the novel. In addition to creating dioramas that identified key character and settings traits from throughout the novel, students were also given the freedom to rationalize their displays through a diary entry, newsletter, obituary, or other literary means. The dioramas created by her students were not only creative, but also sparked lively and authentic dialogue among her students. This learning continued as students were to then take their knowledge of the characters and propose alternate endings to the play.
A big thank you to both Mrs. Lynn and Ms. Bergamo for their commitments to Arizona’s students!
For more information about Ombudsman’s Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow initiative, contact Associate Superintendent Michael Goto at mgoto@ombudsman.com.
