During her summer breaks, Windham Technical High School science teacher Rebecca Cipriani Reyer is often engaging in professional development opportunities.
This August, for example, she will study marine acoustics with a team of female scientists and female high school students at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod.
As always, Cipriani Reyer will share that experience with her Windham Tech students and have them build hydrophones, or underwater microphones, to study whale sounds.
In recognition of her commitment to teaching, she was honored as the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS) Teacher of the Year, which was announced on May 4.
“It’s a huge honor,” Cipriani Reyer said. “I’m appreciative of my colleagues who nominated me and my students who work with me every day.
She is now up for the Connecticut Teacher of the Year honor.
Each school district can nominate one individual for that honor, with the exception of the CTECS system, with one teacher nominated from the entire CTECS system.
“CTECS is so fortunate to have a teacher like Rebecca (Cipriani) Reyer,” CTECS Interim Superintendent Ellen Solek said in a press release. “She is tremendously passionate about science, her students’ learning and their future success. She is a shining example of teachers who go the extra mile for their students. I am honored to recognize her as the 2022 CTECS Teacher of the Year.”
Windham Tech Principal Eric Hilversum spoke highly of Cipriani Reyer in the press release. “She radiates positivity, is readily available to her colleagues and students and is committed to the mission of Connecticut’s technical high schools,” he said. “Her enthusiasm to seek our professional development in her content area and pass her knowledge on to students is unmatched. Windham Tech is proud to have her on our teaching staff.”
Cipriani Reyer said becoming a teacher was a “lifelong dream” for her, noting that a big part of the job is getting to know the students individually and figuring out how they will learn best.
She said she is “always learning” through her job and she loves to learn from her students.
Cipriani Reyer said it is not always easy to make a connection between her professional development experiences and her lesson plans.
“Sometimes, I have to be more creative,” she said.
The Windham Tech teacher has an extensive educational background, including an associate degree in nuclear engineering technology from Three Rivers Community College in Norwich; a sixth-year diploma in professional education in gifted education from the University of Connecticut; a master of arts in education degree from UConn; and a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from UConn.
She began working at Windham Tech in Sept. 2018.
“I love working with my students,” Cipriani Reyer said, adding that she loved to work in science. In addition to being a teacher, she leads the school’s Student of the Month Committee, is secretary for the Science Professional Learning Community, and is a member of the Staff Club, a member of the Health and Safety Committee and the Scheduling Committee at Windham Tech.
Cipriani Reyer was a technical training intern at Dominion Energy Millstone Power Station in Waterford in the summer of 2018 and was a teacher at Renzulli Academy in New London from Aug. 2015 to July 2017.
She has also taught at Sayles School in Sprague and Chaplin Elementary School.
By Michelle Warren, The Chronicle
The original article can be found here: “Windham Tech Teacher Wins State Award“
Original source can be found here.
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