Program_2013_Final Pg Count.indd - Broward Teachers Union

Teacher of the Year Finalist
Suzanne Clancy
Challenger Elementary School
As the second grade team leader for the past three years,
Suzanne Clancy contributed to the continuous improvement of
her colleagues by providing professional development and by
sharing best practices. Clancy believes that teachers are the
steps in students’ stairways to future success. “My role in that
stairway is to develop students’ critical thinking, literacy abilities
and problem-solving skills,” said Clancy. “Equally essential is
my duty in fostering a pathway of positive traits, so students
demonstrate responsibility, trustworthiness, perseverance and
respect.”
With 12 years of teaching experience, Clancy has become a mentor
sharing her expertise and experiences with new teachers as well
as veteran teachers. She believes collaboration is paramount
to advancing the teaching profession. As one of her initiatives,
she was the fi rst teacher to create a learning scale rubric that
enables quick access to see if students met their learning goal.
Another example was teaching her colleagues how to teach their
students to use fi ve pre-reading strategies with a kinesthetic
method she developed.
During her lunchtime she works with students that were
struggling in reading to ensure they are successful. She believes
that the education of a child is very complex and lies in the hands
of many, but being an active diligent participant in the learning
process is a must for the child. Her love of teaching is refl ected
in the outstanding quality of her students and demonstration of
their continuous academic achievement.
26