By Michael Benavides
Staff Writer
PLUMSTED – Members of the Plumsted Township School District Board of Education were pleased to learn the Warrior Teachers for Tomorrow Academy is having a successful first year of operation.
Superintendent of Schools Gerald North introduced Lynn Pryzbylkowski to members of the board during a recent meeting. Pryzbylkowski is directing the academy at New Egypt High School.
She thanked administrators for putting her in that position and told the board the academy has been a success in its first year.
Pryzbylkowski was accompanied by seven students who are enrolled in the teaching academy. She said she wanted the young women to observe how the board members govern the school district.
North said, “I am very happy to see that so many people may be interested in becoming teachers. It is our profession and we are always looking for the best and brightest to go into that profession and to continue it at a high level.”
In September, three more academies will open at the high school. They are the Warrior Law and Social Justice Academy, the Warrior Engineering Academy and the Warrior Business Academy.
Board President Sandra Soles said she was excited to see the teaching academy in operation during the 2016-17 school year.
“Having been an educator for 26 years, I am thrilled to see such a wonderful academy commence in our district. There will always be a high demand for excellent teachers and our New Egypt students will be ahead of the process because of a well-developed curriculum, real life experiences they will have through teacher partnerships district-wide and being surrounded by such great role models, our own teachers.
“The other academies will also prepare our students for the 21st century whether they are college-bound or heading directly into the workforce,” Soles said. “They will offer students a wide range of experiences due to a rigorous curricula in areas of high interest to our students.
“The selection process for admittance into these academies was very thorough and high-achieving students were chosen to participate. I am excited to see these academies’ enrollment grow and witness students’ successes,” she added.
According to the New Egypt High School webpage, “The Warrior Teachers for Tomorrow Academy is designed to attract teacher candidates from high school students to the field of education. The academy will expose students to 21st century learning and technology while they actively learn a variety of educational philosophies and best practices.
“Academy students will be placed on a four-year academic pathway that will be innovative while addressing college and career readiness skills. They will gain knowledge in this particular field of study and cover all high school prerequisites for acceptance to competitive post-secondary institutions.
“This program will empower students in the development of the key skills; critical thinking/problem solving, research, reading, writing, speaking/presenting, and teamwork, and include subsets of these skills, such as analyzing, reasoning, negotiating and questioning.
“The rigorous courses (some achieving college credit) are developed to enable students to apply these skills while identifying how the material connects to other academic subjects. Students will be required to participate in field experiences in classrooms within the local school district and create a professional portfolio during a formal presentation.”
