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Robots, Math & Recycling

Helping teachers teach math and making sure the school recycles

By Rochana Rapkins

This year, students from P.S. 11 in Clinton Hill took first place honors in Brooklyn’s first Lego League robotics competition. The girls and boys on the team partnered with volunteers from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, and built and programmed robots to push a pacemaker toward a heart constructed out of Lego blocks.

At the program’s helm is coach Rasheda Lyons, 34. She has been at the school—which was once plagued by low attendance and standardized test scores—for 13 years.

“I feel that I’m exposing them to engineering and the sciences so they might later remember this experience and consider careers that they may not have thought of,” said Lyons.

“Not only is she an exceptional teacher, she is also an inspirational and motivational icon in the school,” wrote a colleague who nominated her for a Blackboard Award. He credits her with spearheading a recycling campaign, creating monthly math challenges posted throughout the school and leading the robotics team to victory.

Lyons’ primary job, however, is to teach others how to teach. She took on the role of data specialist and math coach after teaching 4th and 5th grades for nine years. She helps other teachers with lesson planning, and gives workshops on math instruction.

“Oftentimes, teachers are math phobic, and I figured I would be able to help them present the instruction to students in a way that is fun and exciting and innovative—and in line with what research is showing,” she said.

She can also be found coaching struggling students in math during the extended day, keeping the peace in the cafeteria during lunch and leading a recycling initiative. She got teachers, custodians and students on board, and established student “recycling patrols.” When the patrols find recycling bins that are uncontaminated by waste, they can earn a pizza or ice cream party.

Lyons also coordinates the school’s annual oratory contest. Fourth- and 5th-grade students memorize famous speeches by the likes of John F. Kennedy, Sojourner Truth and Oprah Winfrey, and recite them at an assembly. In the process they learn enunciation skills, discipline and self-confidence, Lyons said.

“Those are the qualities they need if they are going to be teachers and doctors and lawyers,” she said. “They have to be able to convey ideas in a way that commands the audience.”

Outside of school, Lyons enjoys biking, reading and going on long walks. And in four weeks she is getting married. She plans to spend the month of July on her honeymoon. Asked about her future plans, she appears torn. She sees herself as an agent of change in the classroom, and is thinking about a career in school administration. Yet she still feels the lure of working with students in the classroom.

“I also miss my students in the classroom,” she said. “I miss the family you create in a classroom full of your babies.”

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Rasheda Lyons
P.S. 11, Purvis J. Behan
Elementary School
419 Waverly Ave., Brooklyn