Youngstown’s 2017 Teacher of Year nominees

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

They have more than 160 years of teaching Youngstown City School District children.

Some are in the early days of their careers while others are veterans.

Each of the 14 nominees for YCSD’s 2017 Teacher of Year award was selected by the principal of their respective schools.

A committee will choose the winner this week, and a celebration dinner is set for May 2 at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.

Taft Elementary School’s nominee is Mary Kay Colacino who teaches first grade. She’s been at Taft since 2014 but joined YCSD’s teaching ranks in 1989.

She points to teachers she had during her schooling as inspiring her love of learning.

“I have worked tirelessly to promote the belief that we need to address the ‘whole child’ when educating them,” Colacino wrote.

Jennifer Coles-Shesko, a tenth-grade English teacher at East High School, credits her love of reading as a big part of why she became an English teacher.

“I truly enjoy reading with my students as they experience the joys of a good story,” Coles-Shesko said.

Kelsie Dorr, a fifth-grade math and science teacher at Martin Luther King Elementary School, has been teaching in YCSD since 2010.

When she was a student, she struggled with math. She didn’t want other children to struggle in school the way that she did. That’s one reason she wanted to become a teacher.

Dena Esmail, a third-grade teacher at Williamson Elementary School, is in her third year as a full-time teacher in the city schools.

She credits the late Youngstown State University educator Randy Hoover who helped motivate and guide her career choice.

“He helped to guide us to think deeper, be active participants in learning and make learning fun,” she said.

Tina Felger is Discovery Transitions to Careers’ nominee. She’s been teaching in YCSD since 2015.

The teachers she had as a child inspired her career choice.

Corissa Freeman is an eighth-grade mathematics and honors algebra teacher at Discovery at Kirkmere. She’s been with the district since 2014 and believes in the power of high expectations.

“Students will reach as high as you let them,” Freeman wrote. “If you do not challenge and motivate your students, you are expecting and willing to receive mediocrity.”

Stephanie Greathouse is a sixth- through eighth-grade science, technology, engineering and mathematics teacher at the Chaney Campus. She’s been with the district and at Chaney since 2015.

Although teaching wasn’t her first career choice, she returned to study to be a teacher after she had her children.

“As a professional I am continually learning,” Greathouse wrote. “Most recently I have learned 3-D printing, robotics and how to create apps.”

Jamie McFerren is a second- through fourth-grade intervention specialist at Programs of Promise at Wilson, who has been with YCSD since 2014.

She found her students struggled with issues she hadn’t anticipated – some didn’t believe in themselves and had no support at home.

“I had to allow these students to learn that they are in a safe environment with someone who cares about each and every one of them,” she wrote in her essay.

Sandra Petruzzi has been a city school teacher since 1991. She’s a fourth-grade intervention specialist at Paul C. Bunn Elementary School.

She recognizes that many children in the city school district face problems that children in other school districts might not: hunger, incarcerated parents and drug addiction in the family.

“My style of teaching promotes a ‘safe haven’ for students, allowing them to feel secure in school despite their home situations,” Petruzzi wrote.

Kalliope Sdregas is a ninth-grade Algebra I and geometry teacher at Youngstown Early College High School. She joined YCSD in 1990.

She started college with plans to become an engineer, but enrolled in an education course at her mother’s encouragement.

“By taking this very first class, I realized that I had to do something to make sure kids receive the best education possible,” Sredgas wrote.

“Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to be a teacher,” Trisha Straub, a sixth-grade teacher at Harding Elementary School, wrote in her essay.

She’s been with the city schools since 2001 having taught at several elementary and middle schools within the district.

Janet Vagas is a first-grade teacher at William Holmes McGuffey Elementary School who began teaching in YCSD in 1988.

Vagas grew up in Chicago in a low-income neighborhood and endured some struggles similar to what some of her students have.

“From a small girl in Chicago who did not want to go to school, to a veteran teacher who is committed to spreading positivity and leveraging change for growth, I can say that teaching every day has been a true honor,” Vagas wrote in her essay.

Sabrina Ann Weber is a seventh-grade English language arts teacher at Rayen Early College Middle School, and she’s been with the city schools since 2014.

Everything that’s happened in her life directed her to teaching.

“As a child, I had a lot of life circumstances that forced me to grow up quickly,” she wrote. “All of these experiences have shaped me into wanting to help others who face the same tragedies that I found myself dealing with at a young age.”

Patrick Prokop is the nominee from Choffin Career and Technical Center where he teaches welding. He’s also a journeyman ironworker with the 207 Youngstown Ironworkers.

“I wanted to teach in the inner city to give students pride in their work and school, increase their work ethic and improve attitudes regarding school and the trade industry as well as give students the chance at being successful one they entered the workforce,” he said.