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2008: Elementary Charter School Teacher of the Year

Engaging all Abilities
With her trademark energy, Stacy Birdsell tackles 7th grade reading

Some principals will cross a state to recruit a heralded teacher, but it’s not often that a head of school crosses an ocean to do so. Seth Andrew, head of the Democracy Prep Charter School, met Stacy Birdsell in South Korea in 2000 and has been recruiting her ever since.

“I have seen many, many teachers in my time, and Stacy is truly a master,” Andrew says. “I saw her teach a little bit and got inspired. Before we opened the school, I convinced her to work with some kids that needed her talent even more than the kids she was teaching, and this year she has just been one of the most amazing teachers that I’ve ever seen in the classroom.”

After student-teaching as an undergraduate at Tufts University, Birdsell traveled to South Korea to teach English. There, she began to develop her now trademark boundless energy and gift for keeping a class enthralled.

“There’s an aspect of entertainment in holding your students’ attention,” Birdsell said. “I started to learn how to do that really well when I had to communicate to a large group of people who didn’t really speak my language.”

Teaching 7th grade reading to more than 100 students who read anywhere from 2nd grade- to college-level, Birdsell is constantly finding new ways to engage all abilities. She says she keeps her expectations high from the moment her students enter the classroom, with the goal of giving each one the tools they need to succeed.

“Stacy has this way of making everything come alive to the kids,” said Katie Duffy, director of development at Democracy Prep. “Because so many come with such a huge deficiency in reading, it’s especially hard for her to get them motivated about different texts. She makes it so the kids not only feel empowered by reading but also excited to talk about it.”

The texts Birdsell chooses are far from traditional 7th grade reading material. Earlier this year, she covered her classroom in black construction paper, and using only an overhead projector, she taught her 7th graders Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

“I first read that text when I was in graduate school at Harvard,” Andrew said. “I have 7th graders who not only have read it but can understand it and talk about it with more care and thoughtfulness than I can because Stacy has that passion to make it accessible.”

Birdsell chose the text not for the sake of teaching Plato, but rather to prepare the students for a novel they were scheduled to read next that incorporated similar themes. All of her lessons are geared toward helping her students meet her college-preparatory expectations.

“So much is at stake for a lot of our students,” Birdsell said. “They really have set their goals at 11 years old that they’re going to go to law school or business school. They have their sights set so far beyond college graduation and that kind of thing that keeps you working hard.”

In less than a year, Birdsell has carved a niche for her high-energy, upbeat teaching style in the halls of Democracy Prep. And after eight years of convincing her to join them, Andrew and his co-workers couldn’t be prouder of the newest member of their team.

“This is only her first year with us,” Duffy aid, “and she has just made an instant impression.”

— Carolyn Braff