Albany High, Philip Livingston teachers

recognized among Capital Region's best

ALBANY, N.Y. (January 24, 2008) -- Teachers Tom McGurn of Albany High School and Kandie Antonetti of Philip Livingston Magnet Academy have been recognized as two of the best teachers in the Capital Region.

Mr. McGurn and Ms. Antonetti are among 22 area teachers selected for the New York Lottery-WNYT/TV-13 Educator of the Week award. They were chosen from more than 200 nominees. Each award recipient receives $100 for their school’s library fund and will be recognized at a banquet in the spring.

“I feel like I make a difference in the lives of my students,” said Ms. Antonetti, a sixth-grade math teacher who WNYT profiled Jan. 23. “As a teacher, when you see that light bulb of learning going off in their head, that’s what keeps me going.”

Mr. McGurn teaches European History, an Advanced Placement (AP) course, and 20th Century Issues, a course in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. His students cite the enthusiasm he exudes in the classroom and his ability to help them recognize their fullest potential as his greatest strengths.

Administrators and peers praise him for his willingness to go above and beyond for his students.

A teacher for nearly 30 years, Mr. McGurn, who was the first 2007-08 Educator of the Week profiled Dec. 5, says those qualities come simply from loving his job.

“I think this is what I was meant to do,” he said. “The real key to teaching as far as I’m concerned is being able to tap into that potential. Find out what your students can do, and help them do that better.”

For Ms. Antonetti, that has meant incorporating culturally relevant teaching strategies learned through the district’s partnership with the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education. She is an NUA coach at Livingston and often can be seen and heard in her classroom dancing, rhyming and rapping to help her students better connect to concepts such as least common multiples and greatest common factors.

“You have to make learning fun and engaging for students,” she said, “and when this happens they experience success.”

The City School District of Albany serves approximately 9,000 students in 18 elementary, middle and high schools. The district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students in addition to neighborhood schools. The district is more than halfway through its comprehensive facilities project to newly build and/or renovate nearly all of its elementary and middle schools. The ultimate goal of the facilities project is to provide schools with the resources necessary to help students succeed in the 21st century.