D.C. Region

A STANDING OVATION

A Standing Ovation: http://www.standingovationfordcteachers.org/about-standing-ovation/

D.C. Public Education: http://dceducationfund.org/

District of Columbia Public Schools: http://www.dc.gov/DCPS/impact

ABOUT THE CEREMONY For the last three years, D.C. Public Education Fund and D.C. Public Schools, have hosted A Standing Ovation for D.C. Teachers to honor the highly effective educators of D.C. Public Schools, elevate the profile of teachers in our city, and engage the broader community in the transformation of our schools.The idea to celebrate D.C. teachers came from George Stevens, Jr. — an award-winning film and television writer, director,

and producer. In 2009, he approached D.C. Public Education Fund (DCPEF) and asked how he could support the reform

efforts in D.C. Public Schools (DCPS). The result was the inaugural A Standing Ovation for D.C. Teachers held at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The business, arts, and philanthropic communities joined together and contributed generously to celebrate the men and

women of D.C. Public Schools who earned the honor of being rated Highly Effective on DCPS’s IMPACT teacher evaluation

system. As a result, DCPEF was able to host the first Standing Ovation celebration in the fall of 2010.

QUICK FACT: In 2012, ten of the thirty Standing Ovation award recipients were Teach For America alumni and corps members.

Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Leadership AwardsThe Excellence Awards recognize eight outstanding DCPS educators with a public trophy presentation at the Kennedy

Center and a monetary award of $10,000. These seven teachers and one principal award winners were nominated by DCPS

administrators, colleagues, students, parents and community members, and then selected by a central office panel. Eligible

teachers and principals achieved a rating of Highly Effective under IMPACT in 2011-2012. The awards are funded through

the generosity of David Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of the Carlyle Group and chairman of the Kennedy

Center for the Performing Arts.

Rubenstein Awards for Highly Effective EducatorsThe Rubenstein Awards for Highly Effective Educators honor excellent teachers, school leaders, support staff and aides

with an award of $5,000. Presented for the first time in March 2011, these awards are also the result of the generosity of

David Rubenstein. Rubenstein winners are nominated by DCPS administrators, colleagues, students, parents and community

members, and then selected by a central office panel. Eligible teachers achieved a rating of Highly Effective under IMPACT

in 2011-2012.

All proceeds for A Standing Ovation for D.C. Teachers support the D.C. Public Education Fund’s mission to advance excellence in D.C. Public Schools.

VALYNCIA HAWKINS Fifth Grade Teacher | Anne Beers Elementary School | D.C. Region ‘94

Valyncia Hawkins attended Anne Beers Elementary School

as a DCPS student, and began teaching at Beers eighteen

years ago through Teach For America.

Ms. Hawkins is extremely grateful for the education

she received as a DCPS student and feels as though the

success she found throughout her life began with the strong

foundation provided by Beers Elementary, Sousa Junior

High School, and Ballou Senior High School.

Ms. Hawkins describes her classroom as student-centered,

and a place where students are expected to take initiative

and responsibility for their learning. Ms. Hawkins shares

“My biggest joy is when students begin to recognize the

intrinsic rewards of academic and social achievement.

Knowing that I contributed to this progress is my joy!”

Outside of the classroom, Ms. Hawkins represents her

school community in a variety of leadership roles including

serving as a school representative for the Washington

Teachers’ Union and facilitating at a NASA Educators

Workshop.

It is evident that Ms. Hawkins cares deeply for her school

community and is grateful for the support they provide to

her. “I would like to publicly thank my family, the staff, and

the community of Beers for helping me become the teacher

I am today.”

Sarah Bax was committed to serving urban communities

from early in her career. Upon graduating with an urban

studies degree, Ms. Bax joined DCPS nineteen years ago as

a Teach For America corps member, and she has spent the

last thirteen years as a mathematics teacher at Hardy

Middle School.

Ms. Bax’s students thrive in her classroom, which she

describes as “an ever-evolving mix of urgency and

conceptual creativity, with a consistent inclusion of good

ole’ fashioned fun.” She relishes the moments when

her students “discover their inner mathematician” and

“experience the glory of being thirteen — that who they are

is hardly finished and already amazing.”

Despite the time she commits to her students, Ms. Bax has

taken on numerous other leadership roles, including serving

on the Chancellor’s Teachers’ Cabinet, as a Master Teacher

in the Math for America D.C. program, and as the math

department chair at Hardy. She excels at these other roles,

but teaching is her true passion. She loves that “every day is

an awesome adventure — there is joy in every step.”

TEACH FOR AMERICA WINNERS

Excellence in Teaching Award (2012)

SARAH BAX Eighth Grade Math Teacher | Hardy Middle School | D.C. Region ‘94

Valyncia Hawkins

Sarah Bax

Brian Thompson

Rubenstein Leadership Award (2012)

CAROLINE JOHN Principal | Stanton Elementary School | D.C. Region ‘03

Principal John began her education career in 2003 as a DCPS

middle school teacher at P.R. Harris Educational Campus. She

was a part of the 2003 Teach For America corps in Washington,

D.C. and has been working in Southeast, Washington for the past

nine years.

In 2005, Caroline John became a founding teacher for KIPP

AIM Academy where she taught reading and writing and fell in

love with the workshop model for literacy instruction. In 2007,

Ms. John accepted an offer to serve as the founding principal for

Washington’s first public charter school for girls, Excel Academy.

She served in this capacity during the school’s planning year and

its first two years of operation.

Ms. John was drawn to the transformational work taking place

at DCPS and transitioned into her role as a partnership principal

with Scholar Academies in 2010. Now in her third year as

principal at D.C. Scholars Stanton, Ms. John continues to refine

her skills as an instructional leader and coach so that her faculty

and staff continue to grow and find even more success in the

classroom.

She firmly believes that a dynamic team is the key to powerful,

effective school transformation. Ms. John has seen firsthand

what a committed team of parents, faculty, staff, and leaders

can do for a school community. Thanks to her collaborative

leadership, over the 2011-2012 school year D.C. Scholars

Stanton scholars doubled their gains in reading and tripled their

gains in math on the D.C. CAS.

Ms. John holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University

and a master’s degree in teaching from American University.

Brian Thompson joined DCPS four years ago after serving in

the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army and

came to the district with a strong desire to continue serving

his country in a different capacity as a Teach For America

corps member.

He takes great pride in teaching at Cardozo and credits his

colleagues with much of his development as an educator;

“Cardozo has such a proud history, and I am honored to be

a part of it.” But his students are the ones who keep him

in the classroom. As he expresses, “They bring such joy to

my life. I learn from them on a daily basis, and they always

make me smile and laugh.”

To bring out the best in his students, Mr. Thompson brings

out the best in his students by insisting that in history, there

are no right answers to challenging questions. Rather, he

guides students to examine the subject “through their own

perspectives, and to use evidence and reason to formulate an

understanding of the past.”

When his students face challenges, Mr. Thompson supports

them in finding their own solutions, reminding students that

“everyone fails at some point in life. The people who succeed

are those with the resolve to get back up and try again. I want

to provide this generation with the tools necessary to succeed

in this world, and to help them become better citizens.”

BRIAN THOMPSON Tenth Grade World History Teacher | Cardozo High School | D.C. Region ‘09

Caroline John

Rubenstein Award For Highly Effective Educators (2012)

LAURA AMLING Preschool | Powell Elementary School | D.C. Region ‘09

KRISTOFER COMEFORO Academic Dean (former science teacher) | Anacostia High School | D.C. Region ‘09

Ms. Laura Amling began her teaching career four years ago

as a preschool/pre-kindergarten teacher through Teach

For America. Ms. Amling was inspired to become a teacher

because she recognized the impact her teachers had on her

life and desired to instill the same values in her students. Ms.

Amling shares, “I love helping the youngest DCPS students

find their own self-confidence, fostering independence, and

promoting self-advocacy.”

Outside of the classroom, Ms. Amling continues to perfect

her craft by taking advantage of professional development

and teacher leadership opportunities.

She has served as the grade level chair for the Powell early

childhood team, spent a summer as a training specialist for

Teach For America’s early childhood education pilot at the

Chicago summer institute, and is currently the early childhood

content specialist for Teach For America’s D.C. Region.

Before moving into an academic dean position, Mr. Kristofer

Comeforo taught chemistry for three years at Anacostia

Senior High School. Mr. Comeforo was placed at Anacostia

through Teach For America and after completing his two-

year commitment, felt compelled to stay at the school. He

says that education is the most important civil rights issue of

our time, and believes it is a fight that must and can be won.

Mr. Comeforo describes his students as the brightest he has

ever met, and his colleagues as “doggedly dedicated” to the

success of their school.

Mr. Comeforo has taken on many leadership roles at

Anacostia, including serving as the science department chair,

founding and mentoring the school’s robotics team, and

coaching varsity football.

As a teacher, Mr. Comeforo kept his students engaged

by using labs, experiments, and demonstrations in his classes.

He says that his students rarely felt like they were doing

work. As a result of this hands-on approach, students showed

tremendous growth and a dedication to learning science.

Kristofer Comeforo

Laura Amling

DREW GALLAGHER Third Grade | Bruce-Monroe Education Campus | D.C. Region ‘11

SCOTT HARDING Preschool | Maury Elementary School | D.C. Region ‘06

Mr. Drew Gallagher has been named DCPS’s 2012 New

Teacher of the Year. Mr. Gallagher joined DCPS last fall as

a Teach For America corps member to teach third grade

at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School. He was drawn to the

district because he wanted to make a difference and “could

think of no better place to teach than the public education

system of our nation’s capital. Teaching in the city where

change is made every day, I constantly feel empowered by

this politically and socially charged city. For someone who is

passionate about our country, Washington, D.C. is the perfect

place to be.”

Mr. Gallagher enjoys creating an enthusiastic and

imaginative classroom. He shares, “I appreciate the diversity,

talents, enthusiasm, and curiosity that my young scholars

bring to class every day. I feel honored to be given the trust

and confidence to make the transformational change that my

students deserve.”

Mr. Scott David Harding, Jr. began his career seven years

ago as a preschool teacher in the Teach For America early

childhood initiative pilot. After teaching for two years, Mr.

Harding left the classroom to serve as an Early Reading

First Literacy Coach. However, he missed having his own

students to work with and so he quickly returned to his

previous role as a classroom teacher. This year, Mr. Harding

is entering his third year as a teacher at Maury Elementary

School where he is heavily involved in the school community

— he has served as the Family Engagement Fellow for the

Flamboyan Foundation and the LIFT (Leadership Initiative

For Teachers) ambassador.

As a preschool teacher, Mr. Harding says “every day in the

classroom is truly a combination of all of my passions:

performing, planning events, building relationships, and

having fun.” Using the Reggio principles and culturally

responsive curriculum, his goal is “to make each child a

researcher—a true scientist, as they take ownership of their

own educational process.”

Scott Harding

Drew Gallagher

JENNIFER KRYSTOPOWICZ Special Education | Tyler Elementary School | D.C. Region ‘07

Ms. Jennifer Kate Krystopowicz began teaching at Tyler

Elementary School six years ago after realizing, as an

undergraduate tutor at School Without Walls, that she

wanted a career that allowed her to make a difference in

the lives of the District’s youth,which led to her decision to

join Teach For America.

At Tyler Elementary School, Ms. Krystopowicz serves

on the Academic Leadership Team and the Local

School Advisory Team. She also serves as the school’s

LIFT Ambassador and is a former member of the DCPS

Chancellor’s Teachers’ Cabinet.

Ms. Krystopowicz shares, “Since I have a wide spectrum of

grades and learning needs in my classroom, there is no one

teaching style that I follow. My job is to find the style that

works best for each individual student. Whether that’s done

kinesthetically or visually, I am constantly thinking of new

ways to reach every single student in my room.”

KENNETH ROBINSON Fourth Grade | Hendley Elementary School | D.C. Region ‘93

Mr. Kenneth Robinson has spent his entire 20-year teaching

career at Hendley Elementary School. Before teaching, Mr.

Robinson graduated from Bowie State University with a

degree in business but knew he couldn’t be happy working in

a small cubicle and wanted to do more for his community.

Mr. Robinson was inspired to become a teacher by his wife, a

teacher herself at the time, who highlighted his talents as an

artist and his ability to explain concepts to children. He was

placed at Hendley through Teach For America in 1993 and

shares, “I fell in love with the community and the kids, and I

knew I could teach for the rest of my life. I felt more respect

for being a teacher than I could have ever imagined.”

Mr. Robinson loves seeing his students learn to respect the

power of education. Even when they resist his efforts at

first, he knows that eventually they’ll be eager for to teach

them more and more. The real payoff comes when students

come back to visit—especially those who have enrolled in

Bowie State!

Jennifer Krystopowicz

Kenneth Robinson