English and Instructional Support Services (ISS) teacher Natali Frank has been appointed a “teacher leader” for the ISS department this year.
“Each of our classrooms holds a wealth of knowledge to offer, and there is so much we can learn from one another. Being a teacher leader allows me to help facilitate this exchange of knowledge to promote strong pedagogical practices,” Ms. Frank said.
In particular, Ms. Frank will oversee a team of teachers from the ISS department who will focus on visiting one another’s classrooms to learn about teaching practices that can help students in co-taught classes. The team will work, under Ms. Frank’s guidance, to support students with learning differences by strengthening co-teaching relationships and hosting collaborative meetings with fellow teachers.
Ms. Frank earned this position after applying and interviewing for the role with Teacher Career Pathways, a program in the NYC Department of Education that offers teachers a way to “move into leadership roles while remaining committed to their…classrooms.”
“Providing opportunities for all students to showcase their strengths and achieve success in my classroom is central to my teaching practice,” Ms. Frank said. She said that her own love for learning inspired her to take on a teacher leadership role, allowing her to continue growing as an educator.
Brian Condon, who selected Ms. Frank for this position, said having teacher leaders “makes the experience better for you as students, makes it better for teachers, and makes it better for us as administrators.” Mr. Condon said he looks forward to these teacher leaders one day possibly becoming assistant principals or taking on bigger roles, benefiting the school community around them. This year, Mr. Condon selected eleven total teachers from various departments to take on teacher leader roles.
Imogen Kujo, a current sophomore and one of Ms. Frank’s former students, said that Ms. Frank’s strength as a teacher was that she “made everything really clear.”
“She would always respond to me positively when I asked her questions about our work and … give me really valuable feedback on things,” Imogen said. “It made my freshman year English class a lot easier for me to take.”
Ms. Frank has been an English and an ISS teacher at Townsend Harris since September 2020. She earned her undergraduate degree at SUNY Albany and completed her masters degrees at both Long Island University and The College of St. Rose.
Ms. Frank said her main goal for this school year is “to continue to create supportive classroom environments that provide students with the best opportunity at success.”
