Jamila Colin Named Teacher Of The Year At Newark School

NEWARK, NJ – Jamila Colin has been named Teacher of the Year at Newark's South 17th Street Elementary School for her tireless dedication to serving the community.

Colin serves as the Supervisor of United Community Corporation's 21st Century afterschool and summer program for children ages 8 to 13. She is also a resource teacher at South 17th Street, teaching English/Language Arts and Math and was recently promoted to a Literacy Coach. She has been at South 17th Street for eight years, within the Newark Public Schools District for 10 years and with UCC for five years.

"Working with the kids is amazing because you see them growing from 3rd graders into 9th and 10th graders,” Colin said in a prepared statement. “A lot of them stay in the program and have graduated from the youth program into the teen program for high schoolers. It’s great because they are staying out of trouble and they are coming to us because they want to.”

Director Yucleidis Melendez recalled a specific student who was struggling with reading from a young age who Colin took under her wing. Thanks to her guidance and patience, the student learned how to read and his poor grades quickly turned around.

“Ms. Colin was a massive part of his success,” Melendez said. “He has no issues in school anymore. It is very nice to see a product of her’s, firsthand. His story was so inspiring to me because he is one of the best teens that we have in our program. Ms. Colin is very involved with all of the kids here. She definitely deserves this award.”