St. Mark School Teachers Recognized for Innovation and Leadership

Two teachers at St. Mark School in Stratford were recently awarded $1,278.56 by Foundations in Education for their Innovation and Leadership grant. The Foundation's competitive grants program promotes excellence in the Diocese of Bridgeport Catholic Schools by providing educators with grant opportunities that fund innovation in classroom teaching.

Amanda Di Costanzo, kindergarten teacher, and Stacey Zenowich, second-grade teacher, were awarded funding for their grant project, "Document Cameras to Reach, Teach and Engage Students."

St. Mark School will use the funds to purchase Elmo MX-P2 Writing Board bundles which include visual presentation camera systems and folding, dry-erase-compatible whiteboards. Document cameras provide students the ability to see text or images clearly from any location, whether in the classroom or from home.

Kindergarten Teacher Di Costanzo shares, “Social distancing has put teachers at a disadvantage when we need to demonstrate a concept yet keep distanced. Document cameras will allow my kindergarten class to see the smallest of manipulatives in TrueHD display, thereby providing every student with a front row seat.”

Zenowich feels that this technology will give her second-grade class the opportunity to share their work on a larger scale for their classmates, which she believes will instill confidence and pride in her students.

Zenowich adds, “Our Personalized Learning philosophy calls for a lot of student involvement where teachers guide students to assume more responsibility for their own learning and development. Document cameras will engage students to be the ones presenting and sharing ideas.”

For the 4th consecutive year, St. Mark School has been the recipient of an Innovation and Leadership grant award from Foundations in Education.

“We are extremely grateful to Foundations in Education for continuing to make valuable investments in our school and students,” said St. Mark School Principal Melissa Warner. “A document camera is the perfect way to support teachers' instruction and student centered learning.”

Foundations in Education’s Executive Director, Holly Doherty-Lemoine, remarked, “We are happy we can bring so many of these innovative projects to life and provide an initiative that gives teachers something to look forward to in the midst of all the uncertainty of COVID-19. This initiative is an opportunity for us to celebrate teachers, who are among the unsung heroes of this pandemic.”

This year the awards reception took place virtually where each awardee had the opportunity to acknowledge their award and explain their project and vision. In addition to awardees and their principals, attendees included Most Revered Frank J. Caggiano, Foundations’ Board of Trustees, Grants Committee, and donors.

After listening to each presentation, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano shared his reflections with awardees.

“The creativity is extraordinary! The fact that this is happening when we are constricted in so many other ways portrays heroic leadership. I am deeply impressed that these challenges have not prevented, but inspired such imagination and creative proposals. This is Catholic education as it has always been imagined!”

St. Mark School opened its campus for in-person learning in September and continues to offer robust educational programs for students in Pre-K through Grade Eight, including those who choose to be enrolled in remote learning. This year alone, St. Mark School welcomed 58 new students and continues to attract families looking for an exceptional in-person education. For more information, visit www.stmarkschool.org or email contactus@stmarkschool.org. For information on Foundations in Education, visit www.foundationsineducation.org.