High school English teacher Lydia Santana has garnered a 2023-2024 Big Apple Award from New York City Schools Department of Education. Photo Credit: Lydia Santana

New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) does a fine job of recognizing their most outstanding teachers. This year, they have honored nearly 50 classroom educators who work in public schools within New York. One of these is Lydia Santana, a high school English teacher who has been named a recipient of their 2023-2024 Big Apple Award.

Lydia teaches at Newtown High School in the Queens North High Schools District. She instructs courses in Advanced Placement Language and Composition and Honors English to seniors and juniors. She has taught at the school for the past 14 years. In her classroom, Lydia cultivates a confident, active and engaging instructional environment. According to the NYC DOE, Lydia provides frequent opportunities to elevate student voices, many of whom are English language learners still developing their language skills.

Lydia earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education from Queens College in 2009. While there, she was inducted into the Golden Key International Honor Society.

Congratulations to Nevada educator Laura Jeanne Penrod, who has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Laura Jeanne Penrod

Congratulations to educator Laura Jeanne Penrod of Clark County, Nevada! She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Laura teaches dual-credit English courses to seniors at Southwest Career and Technical Academy, a magnet high school in her Las Vegas school. She has worked at the school since it opened in 2009. She inaugurated her first job in the profession at Eldorado High School in East Las Vegas in 2006. In all, her career as an educator spans 18 years.

In her classroom, this outstanding educator emphasizes project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and leadership skills. She is passionate about empowering her students in projects that serve the community. For example, she organized her students to advocate in Nevada’s 82nd Legislative Session with Assemblyman Duy Nguyen and Assemblywoman Erica Mosca to pass Assembly Bill 274, which addressed the topic of financial literacy, and Assembly Bill 24, which addressed the topic of access to college and career readiness programs.

Her advocacy for the profession extends beyond her school. Laura serves as an ambassador for the Nevada Future of Learning Network; a Teacher Cabinet Member of the national Teach Plus CEO; and a facilitator for the Teach Plus National Teacher of Color Network. She is also a contributing columnist for the Nevada Independent, where she publishes articles about educational topics.

Education runs in Laura’s blood. Her mother, Miriam Smyth, was a longtime Spanish teacher in the Clark County School District. “Seeing her teach was magical, and I want to be magical like her,” Laura remembers. “I want to walk out of my job every day knowing that this is how I’m changing the world in positive ways, and I want to help kids,” she declares.

Laura earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from California State University, Bakersfield, in 2005. She earned her Master’s degree in Special Education at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2007.

Read more about Laura Jeanne Penrod at her website.

California English teacher Casey Cuny has been named his state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: The Signal of Santa Clarita Valley

There are many outstanding teachers in our nation’s schools who have earned recognition for their work with young people. One of these is Casey Cuny, a high school English teacher from California. He has been named his state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Casey teaches Honors English to sophomores and Mythology and Folklore to seniors at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, located about 30 miles north of Los Angeles. In a career that spans more than two decades, he has spent the last 18 of them working in the Hart District. On his campus, Casey also serves as English Department Chair and as the school’s instructional coach. He also works as an Adjunct Professor at National University, a San Diego-based four-year college that offers both in-person and online classes in teacher credentialing. He has done this work for 17 years.

In his classroom, Casey places focus on creating an inclusive environment for his students, emphasizes the power of growth mindset, and champions their growth as individuals. He uses Socratic seminars, which are scaffolded critical thinking activities that foster dialogue and collaboration among students. In fact, he has published an article on this topic in Educational Leadership, a prestigious journal in the field of education.

Casey has earned other accolades in addition to being named California’s Teacher of the Year. Last year, he was named Valencia High School Teacher of the Year, he was recognized by the Hart Governing Board as the District Teacher of the Year, and he was honored as one of 16 Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year.

To achieve his current success, Casey has had to overcome substantial obstacles. He grew up in Vail, Colorado, where he enjoyed a normal childhood, until, at the age of 13, he was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer. He had to undergo eight surgeries during that year, followed by chemotherapy for more than a year.  In remembering that period of his life, Casey recalls that his teachers were a great source of hope.  In fact, they inspired him to dedicate his life to becoming a teacher so that he could be an inspiration to other young people.

Casey earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona in 1998, and his Master’s degree in Education from the University of Phoenix in 2005. 

To read more about Casey Cuny, click on this link to an article about him published in The Signal.