Dear Superintendent Carreón,

For the past four years, I have had the privilege of being a Special Education Teacher at PS 97Q The Forest Park School. In my role as a Special Education Teacher, I have worked in an integrated co-teaching classroom to meet the needs of general education students and students with disabilities. Inclusion, equity, and respect for all are the building blocks of our classroom community. Building strong relationships with my co-teachers has been equally as important as building relationships with my students, and I pride myself on being a part of a harmonious co-teaching team. As a partnership, we are most efficiently and effectively able to meet the diverse needs of our students.

As a Special Education teacher, I am cognizant of the differences in learning styles in my classroom. I strive to plan engaging lessons that reach all learners, regardless of ability. Building rapport with my students and their families is a cornerstone of my teaching style. It is essential that students feel confident in their strengths and are able to identify their weaknesses in order to engage in productive struggle. I believe in promoting student self-advocacy, and incorporate student choice into each lesson. This past year, I worked to incorporate more culturally responsive practices to build an even stronger classroom community. My students were able to connect to characters and texts that served as "mirrors," not just "windows," and we celebrate the diversity in our classroom. The components of SCEWP are ever present in our classroom.

In this website you will find evidence of student learning, teacher practice, and professional contributions. In the Student Learning section of this website, you will find graphs and tables highlighting student growth as measured by NYC Performance Tasks, Fountas & Pinnell Reading Assessments, and Literably Assessments. In the Teacher Practice section of this website, you will find four observation evaluations that show my growth as an educator; shout outs from Principal Aggoub; a lesson plan and student work samples; and feedback from virtual classroom visits. In the Professional Contributions section of this website, you will find evidence of my school and community involvement, professional development presentations, and parent workshops during my time at PS 97Q.

During my time at PS 97Q, I have achieved many professional goals, I have grown as an educator, but most importantly, I have worked to help my students grow. The next goal I hope to fulfill is achievement of tenure. I will continue to be committed to the PS 97Q community: colleagues, families, and students. It has been an honor to be a member of the PS 97Q community and I look forward to many years ahead. Thank you in advance for your consideration of my tenure status.

Sincerely,

Diana Morelli