Agriculture teacher Carly Santangelo has been named New York’s state 2022 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Ocean Times Herald

I am always excited to share a story about an exceptional educator who has earned accolades for their work. One of these is Carly Santangelo, a secondary school agriculture teacher who has been named New York’s Teacher of the Year for 2022.

Carly teaches agriculture to middle and high school students at Cuba-Rushford Central School in Cuba in western New York State. She engages students, colleagues, and the community by connecting academic content to life-long skills through schoolwide, hands-on projects. She believes strongly in an interdisciplinary, project-based approach to learning and uses agriculture to approach content from other classes. For example, with colleague Joseph Franzen, a Cuba-Rushford history teacher, Carly founded the World Foods and Diversity program. The course helps students understand how gender, race, history, and other global issues relate to the food we eat. The honored educator also works to expose all students to fields traditionally viewed as male-oriented, such as welding. In doing so, she says, she helps break down gender-based barriers and stereotypes.

In addition to teaching her courses, Carly also serves as her school’s advisor for Future Farmers of America (FFA). In this role, she works diligently to develop her students’ leadership skills. In fact, she has coached several of her students to state-winning titles in a variety of career-development events.

Carly actively pursues opportunities to expand the walls of her classroom through grants, field trips, community connections, and guest speakers. She believes in service learning and works alongside her students to give back to the community, both on campus and outside of school. For example, Carly involves her students in initiatives such as volunteering at the local food bank and teaching elementary school students and area businesses about the value of composting.

Carly earned her Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources. She earned a second Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science Education from Cornell University and her Master’s in Teaching in both Adolescent Education with an emphasis in Biology and Agricultural Education. Her career as an educator spans nine years.

To read more about Carly Santangelo, click on this link to NYSUT.