Orlando Valentin Jr. of Meriden, Conn., a student at the University of Connecticut, has been honored as the Alma Exley Scholar for 2016. Seven previous scholarship recipients were among those celebrating with him at a reception on May 4 at the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford.
Alma Exley Scholars from 1998-2015 celebrated with Orlando Valentin Jr. at a reception in his honor. Others. from left, Chi-Ann Lin, Violet Jiménez Sims, Dr. Miguel Cardona, Desi Nesmith, Margaret Seclen, Justis Lopez, Nadine Rosa.
Justis Lopez, the 2015 Alma Exley Scholar, was the guest speaker at the 20th annual reception, reflecting on his first year of teaching at Manchester High School and welcoming Mr. Valentin into the scholarship family.
In accepting the honor, Mr. Valentin announced that he had accepted a position as fourth grade teacher at Casimir Pulaski Elementary School in his hometown of Meriden. A graduate of Wilcox Technical High School, he is a student in the five-year Integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s Program in the Neag School of Education at UConn. He received a B.S. in Elementary Education with a concentration in science in May 2015. He was scheduled to receive an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction on May 7, 2016.
He has an outstanding record of academic achievement and public service. He has been an active volunteer in Windham elementary schools as a site manager with America Reads and as a team leader with AmeriCorps’ Jumpstart program. He has served as a leader in Bringing Awareness Into Latin Ethnicity (BAILE) and as president of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity. He also served as a leader of a student volunteer project that aided elementary schools in Jamaica.
He has been a martial arts practitioner for 15 years and holds a second-degree black belt. He works as an instructor in the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do.
He is a most deserving scholarship recipient, and we are delighted to welcome him to the Alma Exley Scholarship Family.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has signed two bills into law to advance minority teacher recruitment and training in Connecticut.
According to a report in The Hour newspaper of Norwalk on August 8, Public Act 15-108 creates an 11-member task force to study and develop strategies to increase minority teacher recruitment and retention. The task force also will ensure that cultural competency instruction is included in teacher preparation programs and in-service training for educators.
The legislation also allows the State Board of Education to grant temporary, 90-day certificates in teacher shortage areas. And the law will enable Connecticut to enter into teacher certification reciprocity agreements with other states, making it easier for teachers from other states to earn certification in Connecticut.
Strengthening Teacher Preparation
The other law, Public Act 15-243, is aimed at improving the effectiveness of teacher-preparation programs in Connecticut’s colleges and universities.
The act requires the Office of Higher Education to submit a report on the quality of teacher-preparation programs leading to professional certification. It also revises the clinical, field or student-teaching experience requirement for teacher preparation programs.
Both bills passed unanimously in the state Senate and House of Representatives.
High Priority to Education
Jennifer Alexander, CEO of ConnCAN, a state education advocacy group, endorsed both bills.
“We are pleased that Gov. Malloy and the state legislature prioritized Connecticut students and educators this year by passing legislation that will help bring diverse and high-quality educators into our schools and prepare all our educators for the work ahead,” she said.
“Research shows educator effectiveness has more impact on student achievement than any other factor within a school’s control,” she said. “These bills go a long way towards ensuring our state is able to attract and recruit highly effective and diverse teachers and administrators and that we continue to push for rigorous educator training and preparation.”
8 Percent Minority Teachers
A ConnCAN study released in March revealed that 92 percent of Connecticut’s 36,823 public school teachers are white. The study reported that 3.5 percent of the state’s public school teachers are Hispanic, 3 percent are black, 1.1 percent are Indian and 0.13 percent are listed as other.
“Right now, the richness of diversity in our student body is not mirrored in our teacher and school leaders,” Alexander said. “Almost half of Connecticut students are students of color, but only 8 percent of our teachers and 12 percent of our administrators are people of color.”
Scott X. Esdaile, president of Connecticut Chapter of the NAACP, said, “The passing of this legislation is a clear indication that our state leaders are committed to better preparing our highly qualified teachers for the job ahead and enhancing the educational experience for all our students.”
Justis Lopez of Manchester, a student at the University of Connecticut, has been chosen as the Alma Exley Scholar for 2015. Educators, friends and supporters of the program honored him at a reception. on Monday, May 4, at the Elmwood Community Center in West Hartford.
Welcoming Justis into the Alma Exley Scholarship Family were previous recipients Desi Nesith, principal of Metacomet School, Bloomfield, left in photo above, and Dr. Miguel Cardona, performance evaluation specialist in the Meriden Schools, at right.
Justis, a graduate of Manchester High School, is a student in the five-year Integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s Program in the Neag School of Education at UConn. He received a B.S. in Education with a major in history in May 2014 and is scheduled to receive an M.A. in Education on May 9, 2015.
He has an outstanding record of academic achievement, public service and campus leadership. As he says, “Nothing great is achieved without enthusiasm.” And with his enthusiasm and ability, he has the potential to do great things as an educator.
His flair for leadership became apparent early in his UConn career. He received the Emerging Leader Student Life Award as a freshman. This recognized his leadership in programs to orient and support new students.
He has been active in a summer program sponsored by Student Support Services to assist low-income, minority students who are the first in their families to attend college.
Justis has lent his considerable talents to a variety of initiatives to promote diversity and multicultural understanding at UConn and beyond.
He was one of 14 students chosen to take the lead in fostering an inclusive community at the university. And he has worked in an inter-university initiative with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) to broaden the demographic makeup of the teacher workforce.
He has been involved in the K-5 College Bound Program, which brings youngsters to UConn to give them a taste of college life and encourage them to aspire to higher education.
He has been active in other campus organizations such as Bring Awareness to Latino Ethnicities (BALE), the Puerto Rican and Latino Cultural Center, and Leadership in Diversity (LID), intended to “put the lid on the achievement gap.”
During the summer of 2013, he served as an intern at the University of Albany. Working in the Office of Intercultural Student Engagement, he implemented the Brother 2 Brother mentorship program for incoming freshmen. He also built the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center to cultivate an inclusive community for LGBTQ students.
In the summer of 2014, he served as a public policy intern in Washington D.C with the Council For Opportunity In Education. In that position he worked with educational advocacy groups in the U.S. Department of Education in conjunction with the White House and drafted proposals for educational programs to be considered by Congress in 2015.
He was a familiar figure at UConn sports events performing as Jonathan the Husky as a sophomore. And he was the UConn Homecoming King in 2014.
He also has made a name for himself as master of ceremonies and DJ for more than 300 social events. Based on this experience, he has established Justis League Entertainment, which provides music and photography for school functions, weddings and business events.
He won a TEDx Student Speaker Award in 2013. He was one of a number of college students participating a program patterned after the well-known TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) events.
While pursuing a wide variety of extra-curricular activities, Mr. Lopez has achieved a strong academic record and has won praise from the faculty for outstanding performance in his student teaching assignments.
He is a most deserving scholarship recipient, and we are delighted to welcome him to the Alma Exley Scholarship Family.
