BOSTON, MA—Teach Plus congratulates 2017 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year and Commonwealth Policy Fellow Sydney Chaffee on receiving the prestigious 2017 National Teacher of the Year Award. A 9th grade humanities teacher at Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester, MA, Chaffee is also a Teacher Leader with the Boston Educators Collaborative. She was among the four finalists selected for the nation’s top teaching honor by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), which runs the National Teacher of the Year program.
“Sydney’s belief in the transformative power of education, her commitment to her students and colleagues, and her passion for social justice exemplify the very best of teaching,” said Paul Toner, Teach Plus Massachusetts Executive Director. “On behalf of all of us at Teach Plus, I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Sydney on receiving this incredible honor. We’re proud to include Sydney among our Fellows and Teacher Leaders and look forward to having her represent the teaching profession as the nation’s next National Teacher of the Year.”
“I believe in the power of teacher collaboration to effect change for kids. As National Teacher of the Year, I hope to engage in conversations with my colleagues from across the country about the innovative ways we are helping all of our students succeed,” said Chaffee.
A National Board Certified Teacher, Chaffee serves as Codman Academy’s humanities department chair for grades 6-12 and as co-coordinator of a weekly all-school community circle. Since 2010, she has mentored pre-service teachers from Tufts University and Boston University. In 2013, Chaffee worked with educators from across the country to write 8th grade ELA curricular modules for EL Education and EngageNY.
About Teach Plus
Teach Plus empowers excellent, experienced teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. Teach Plus programs are designed to place highly effective teachers at the center of improvements in schools as leaders of their peers and outside schools influencing policy decisions that affect their classrooms. The programs develop excellent teachers into leaders who achieve change and mobilize others in their school, district, state, and across the nation to bring change to scale. Since its inception in August 2007, Teach Plus has grown to a network of more than 23,000 solutions-oriented teachers across the country. www.teachplus.org
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