July 7, 2025 • 28 mins
Founded by Glenn and Amanda Fuhrman, The Flag Award For Teaching Excellence recognizes and celebrates extraordinary New York City public school teachers who inspire learning through creativity, passion, and commitment. Our guests are 2025 Flag Award Winners Alhassan Susso, a Social Studies teacher from International Community High School in The Bronx, and Emily Chandler a special education teacher at District 75 school, PS 371K Lillian Rashkis in Brooklyn. For more on this year’s winners and applications for 2026, visit flagaward.org
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven Light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to Get Connected. Now that the school
year has ended for New York City Public schools, we
are once again pleased to introduce you to the winners
of the annual Flag Award for Teaching Excellence. Founded by
Glenn and Amanda Furman, the award recognizes and celebrates extraordinary
New York City Public school teachers who inspire learning through creativity, passion,
(00:34):
and commitment. Our guests are al Hassan Suso, social Studies teacher,
International Community High School zero seven X three three four
winner of the Flag Award for Teaching Excellence representing the Bronx,
and Emily Chandler, a special education teacher at a District
seventy five school PS three seventy one K. Lillian Rashkis
(00:55):
and Brooklyn's winner. Congratulations to you both and thank you
for being on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Thanks you so much for having us.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Every year, the Flag Award honors one grand prize winner
from each of the five boroughs, plus one three K
to fifth grade teacher from any Brough and each receives
a twenty five thousand dollars unrestricted cash prize, and the
winning teacher schools will each receive ten thousand dollars. The
full list of winners and finalists is at Flag Award
dot org. We'll start by talking to al Hassan Suso, First,
(01:25):
a veteran history teacher at an international community high school
in the South Bronx. Congratulations on winning the awards, sir,
How did you find out about it? Were you aware
that it existed?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
It was a complete surprise when the Flag Foundation came
to my school a couple of weeks ago. It was
disguised as an assembly for a feature already program that
our school was going to be learning about, and you know,
I was in the classroom preparing the students for it,
and we all came downstairs and I just walked in
(01:59):
and my students started screaming, like what is going on?
And so it was a truly, you know, a very
pleasant surprise. But what made it even more special was
that my family was present, which was you know, really meaningful.
My tree kids were you know, beming with joy seeing
their father recognized for his contribution in the field of education.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
That's fantastic. So you were an immigrant from the Gambia
teaching newly arrived immigrant students. Can you talk about your
personal experience and how that sort of shapes building relationships
with your students.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Yeah. So I came to the US in two thousand
and when I was in eleventh grade. I went to
Pi Keepsi High School, you know, about seventy five miles
north of the city. And I came to this country
with just twenty dollars, two pairs of pants and a shirt,
and an incurable eye disease. But that is the beauty
of America because that September evening, as my flight was
circling over the beautiful skies of New York City, you know,
(02:54):
that was the first time in my life that I
was actually able to see at night because I came
from a country where, you know, we don't usually have
bright lights at night, and the condition that I that
I have, which at the time I didn't know about,
it's difficult for me to basically navigate nighttime activities. So
I enrolled in Pictups High School and I graduated. But
(03:17):
then two weeks before graduating, you know, my grandmother who
raised us her roof collapsed back in the game beer,
and we had to you know, well, I had to
make a decision at that point, you know, do I
pursue my own ambitions because I was already registered in college,
or do I give back to the woman who was
giving me so much. After thinking about it for a while,
the choice became player. I decided to drop all my
(03:39):
classes and took up two full time jobs, working you know,
four pm to midnight at one job and then midnight
to eight am at under a grocery store. They were
right opposite each other in Peckepsie, and I did that
for six years, and I was able to build a
house for her and then for my mom, and then
went back and then went started my higher education journey.
But then that semester, my nineteen year old was diagnosed
(04:01):
with hepatitis B, and the medical facilities in the Gamber
were not advanced to treat such a disease. So one
of the ways we could have saved her life was
to bring her to the US to get the care
that she needed. Long story showed. After going through the
immigration process, she was denied the visa and then four
months later she passed away. And then the eight hours
(04:23):
after she passed away. The grandmother who raised all of us,
who I built the house for, also passed away within
twenty four hours, and then my wall stopped. I flew
back to be with them. But upon returning to the US,
I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.
And then I decided to pursue immigration law to ensure
another family would not go through what my family had
(04:44):
been through. And then I went to the University of
Vermont and I finished my undergrad took the Elsert. So
I was in my advisor's office we were putting together
my law school application when she asked what acque and Alison,
I never asked you this, Why do you actually want
to be a lawyer? I explained to her the story
of my family and everything that transpired. She thought about
(05:06):
it for a while and said, well, if that is
really your mission to empower young immigrant kids in this country,
I'm not sure law school is the place for you.
And I was like, well, why is that?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Said?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Well, think about it this way. By the time you
defend those kids in the courtroom, one of two things
would be happening. They would either be heading to jail
or they will be in the process of getting deported,
why don't you think about doing something that will ensure
you will never they will never even have to see
the courtroom. After thinking about what that would look like,
education became the obvious choice. As Nelson Mandela said, education
(05:39):
is the weapon one can use to transform the world.
And that is how and why I became a teacher.
And thirteen years later, she is absolutely right. Every day
I wake up and empower those recent immigrants to this
country to live a life that my baby sister did
not have.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
There's something to hear this story, and there must be
something when you're hearing this story when you're twelve years old,
when you're fere teen years old or whatever the age
of the students that you teach, what do you think
your story brings to them? And how do you sort
of help them marshal all their own experiences into something
like leadership.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
So every day I look at my students, I see
myself in them, because there I came to this country
at the same age that most of my students come
to this country, and they are about to impack on
a journey I've already been on, so I know the
road ahead. So then when I started at my school.
That year, our graduation rade was thirty one percent. And
(06:33):
you know, the following year, you know, I was given
the twelfth grade class and the history class, and you know,
with you know, extra effort and you know, support from colleagues,
we were able to raise you know, the US History
you know region's test scores from twenty nine percent that
year to sixty nine percent. And many of our kids
ended up graduating that year, which was very exciting and
(06:56):
we were all excited about it until I found out
only twenty eight percent of and would be going to college,
and based on our school's history, four fifty percent of
them would have dropped out by the end of their
first year. So what that actually means is that only
fourteen percent of our students will make it beyond first
year of college. And I teach in District seventh in
(07:17):
the South Brons, which is considered the second forest congressional
district in the US. So here all thesegrant immigrant kids,
their first destination in the US is District seventh, and
now they have a high school diploma about, no college
education and no skill preparation for a career. So what
are we setting them up for? Well, basically, we are
(07:37):
setting them up for intergenerational poverty. And as I just
mentioned my story, that is not why I went into education.
I went to education to ensure that immigrant kids in
this country become successful and live a life that my
babusinesses did not have. And when I found that out,
I went to my principal and said, well, what are
we doing about this? Because this is totally unacceptable. So
(07:58):
we are trying number of things. I said, okay, great,
but I'm not de tired to actually wait, I am
very impatient. I'm like, you know, so I did my
own research. How can you empower young people to succeed
even if they don't go to college. So through that process,
I came up with five elements. You know, the first
step of success in mindset and attitude. Second, you have
(08:20):
to have a clear and compelling vision for your future. Third,
you have to have these skills of communication. And you
have to be a leader not only others but for yourself.
And finally, you have to be financially literate. I put
that together as a program and presented it to my
principle because I spent all Christmas break that year working
on that, and I presented you her, I said, I
(08:41):
want to do this as a before school program. She
evaluated the whole curriculum and I said, wow, this is
so brilliant. That's only one problem. You want to do
it as a before school program. I said, yes. You know,
our kids are notorious for coming to school and our lead. Yes.
Why do you think they're going to come in an hourly?
I don't know, but I do know one thing. We
(09:02):
all spend time where we see value. If these kids
see value in this, I am sure they will show up.
And I said that with confidence, not knowing how it's
going to turn out. Long story short, ten years into
that program, seventy percent of our twelve graders come to
school and our early and it took our graduation break
from thirty one percent to eighty four point five percent
within five years. And if you speak to my principles,
(09:24):
you will attribute a huge part of that to the
Morning Class because it has become a culture in our
school and one of the things I would forever be
grateful for the Flat Foundation. Even before winning this award,
they have sponsored the Morning Class retreats because every year,
so every year I take them, you know, away for
two retreats. Twice a year. You know, in the fall
(09:46):
we go to Philadelphia, Philly, and then in the spring
we go to Boston. And those retreats have now have
now transformed so many lives over the course of you know,
the last ten years, that I could spend hours recounting
so many transformations that transpired over the course of those
weekend retreats.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
You are listening to get connected. We are with the
Flag Award for Teaching Excellence winners for twenty twenty five.
The Flag Award for Teaching Excellence was founded by Glenn
and Amanda Furman, recognizing and celebrating extraordinary public school teachers
who inspire learning through creativity, passion, and commitment. You can
find the full list of winners at Flag Award dot org.
(10:24):
You're listening to get connected on one oh six point
seven light FM. Amina del Rio. Emily Chandler is our
winner from Brooklyn. Congratulations. Tell us about the experience of winning.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
My principal, Heather Miller, decided that she was going to
completely shock me. She told me about a week prior
that the district was coming to view our students who
had been doing a Morgan book project, and so they'd
been working on this really hard, and she had been
letting me really off the leash. We had gone to
several museums. This was kind of a slightly controversial project
(10:59):
because we did a lot learning outside the city, and
so she told me we were presenting the whole thing
to the district at a symposium. So I got the
kids all set up, I got set up, and then
she walked in and said, I lied to you. And
then I was so surprised, and my husband was standing
there with a giant thing of flowers, and it was
(11:21):
pretty surreal. It's not something you expect. You think you're
going in for a day of work, and then all
of a sudden, people are clapping, and my students didn't
even know, so like they were all very surprised, and
it was an incredible, incredible situation. It's like something that
you can't even imagine being in that in that role
(11:42):
where you're just a teacher and you're doing your job,
but all of a sudden you're getting all these accolades
I think all teachers should be getting, but all of
a sudden, you get what teachers should be getting, and
it feels strange and it feels like like, why is
this happening to me. But it was a beautiful, beautiful experience.
I think more teachers should have it.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
You have taught everything from ELA and financial math to
environmental science. Can you talk a little bit about your
approach and how it has evolved or how you you know,
you tailor it for each group of students.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Oh my gosh. So like teaching special ads A lot
like teaching at McDonald's. They start you off on the fries,
you go to the front counter, you're in the back.
So like every time I teach something, I'm able to
connect it. So if I'm teaching environmental science, well, let's
bring in some of the components of the ELA regents,
let's bring in some of that persuasive writing stuff. I'm
(12:34):
teaching personal finance, cool well, vocabulary words can I bring
in that the kids are going to need later on?
In transition? It's all about trying to tie everything together
and seeing how you're not really ever learning one subject. Students,
especially when they're younger, they learn organically immerse themselves in everything.
So if you have a good project like the more
Morgan book project, Billion Oyster Project. Right now we're getting
(12:57):
hooked up with the national The next genery personal finance grant.
If you have like a project where you can have
the kids attached to it, you can teach them several
different subject matters at once. And if you're working with
kids that can have some behaviors, it's really great to
get them involved academically before you even try to like
get them in the door. Like, if they're engaged, they're
(13:19):
going to be learning no matter what it is. So
if I can teach a kid the science regions while
we're writing a letter to their local official about particulate
matter in our environment, then I'm teaching them on several levels,
and we're kind of working smarter, not harder.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
There you're really also focused on hands on learning experiences.
Your students achieved an impressive eighty percent pass rate in ELA,
even students that may not initially be on a regent's
diploma track. How does the hands on learning experience figure
into that?
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Not every kid can read on their grade level. There's
been a big shift in our district, in District seventy
five that our grade levels are a lot lower. So
I could have a kid for needing to pass the
ELA regents who reads on a second grade level. So
how do I teach that kid the skills. Will we
go to the Museum of Modern Art, we look at
(14:10):
a painting and we use our analysis skills, because those
are the skills that they're going to use when they're writing.
You find a way. You take them to the Chinese
Scholar Garden and you talk about the Meiji Restoration. You
take them there, you actually get their hands wet in
a koi pond, and then start talking about meditation during
that time. We have one of the best cities in
the world, and like the world classroom is what I
(14:33):
like to call it. I take them out there, we
learn everything we can, and then we try to figure
out a way to make it work for these tests.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Let's talk about one of your projects. Specifically, you designed
a project on the environmental impact of pizza ovens in
the city, which had students interviewing business owners and EPA
representatives about ethical implications of environmental regulations. Talk about where
that project came from and the means of it to
teach environmental science and ethics.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Absolutely, this came from the New York City Service Learning Program,
So they set me up with students advocating for the
environment last year and it just so happened that last
year in the spring, they passed a new law that
made it illegal for pizza ovens, the old world ones
that were wood burning to be working in without special
(15:21):
scrubbers being installed in. And it just seems like a
simple slam dunk kind of thing. Oh yeah, let's help
the environment. But I wanted to go with my kids
and investigate it further. So we went to Mancini's Pizza
down in Brooklyn and we talked to the guy and
he actually let us interview him. He gave my kids
free pizza, so like they love him for life. But
(15:43):
we learned that, yeah, this guy wants to help the environment.
These pizza owners wanted to help the environment, but these
scrubbers were going to be fifty thousand dollars, And so
my kids were able to learn that. They were able
to look at the When we talked to the leader
of the EPA for New York City, we learned about
why these pizza ovens were bad, how this particular matter
would clog our lungs. We got to talk a little
(16:05):
bit about the biology of that. We got to work
on our speaking and listening skills because these are special
needs students and those are really key skills. Making eye
contact is something that you're going to need whether you
pass a test or not. And then we were able
to write letters to government officials to talk about that
and talk to our councilman, Justin Brannan about well, how
(16:26):
can we get some funding for these local business owners
that want to do the right thing for the environment
but don't have that kind of funding on hand and
our staples in our community. So the students got to
see several different points of view when they were looking
at this topic. It started as an environmental topic and
then ended as a service learning where they ended up
(16:47):
writing these letters and teaching other young students to make
postcards pizza postcards, to talk to their union excuse me,
their council reps in their locations so they could also
help them in that way. You know, we love pizza,
we're New Yorkers, but we also love our city and
it was kind of cool to get the kids in
the grassroots of that and to see like, well, how
(17:08):
can they make change, How can they talk to adults
about things that matter to them like the environment, and
how can they actually see that change come through? And
what really made me astounded is how every adult I
talked to treated my kids like they were real people,
like Frank Mancini, the guy at the EPA when they
went and they presented in Manhattan, like everyone treated them
(17:31):
like they were right to be justified and talking about
this and so like, my kids got this huge confidence
boost and that translated to a lot of different things,
like being able to learn in this way means that
they were more confident in public. They were more confident
ordering a slice of pizza, which seems like it's something
that you and I can do, but like some of
these kids, that's one of their goals in life.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Our guests are Emily Chandler and al Hassan Suso, two
of the winners of the Flag Award for Teaching Excellence
for twenty twenty five five. You can find out the
full list of winners at Flag Award dot org. You're
listening to get connected on one six point seven light
FM am Nina del Rio. The grand prize winners include
twenty five thousand dollars cash prizes for each of you
in ten thousand dollars for your schools. So with your
(18:16):
twenty five thousand dollars cash prize, what are your plans.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
I haven't really planned too much that money. Some of
that is going to go in my four year old
five twenty nine for college. But we're also just kind
of thinking about what's going on in the economy and
what can we fix or buy before we can afford
to anymore. But we're a lot really excited about the
ten thousand dollars that our schools get because that's going
to be really exciting for our initiatives there.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Do you know what your plans are at the school?
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Yes, So I've been planning extensively on that for a
media archive and maker space for our students. Like I
said earlier, there's been a big push for academic work
from our students that hasn't been as heavy before, and
so a lot of them don't have that confidence or
prior knowledge to fall back on. So if they had
just an archive of other student work that they could
(19:03):
look at artworks, written works, things that could inspire them
and they could work on those assignments or projects. They're
in a space that's conducive to that and inspiring for that.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
And al Hassan the twenty five thousand dollars prize, Can
you tell me about what you might do and the
Gambi a teacher prize as well.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yeah, so for me, the twenty five thousand dollars will
be going to fund the Gambier Teacher Prize initiative. That
is an initiative I started two years ago. As I've mentioned,
I am from the Gambier and so when I visited
the Gambia in twenty nineteen, one of the things I
have learned is how diret the situation is regarding the
(19:43):
educational outcomes for students. And one of the things that
I know for show as an educator is that if
you want to transform any education system, it starts with
the people in the people in front of the room,
which I had the teachers. So three years ago I
initiated this process with the support of the US Ambassador
Sharon Chroma in Indie Gambia to identify and recognize incredible
(20:07):
Gambian educators share their stories so we could use their
stories as a way to attract a recruit, attract and
retain high quality teachers in order to improve educational outcome
for Gambian kids. So then the US State Department, through
the US Embassy was supposed to continue that process of
(20:28):
funding this year, but as we know, with the change
in administration, that is no longer happening because the grant
we were hoping to receive is called the Public Diplomacy Grant,
but that has been canceled by the State Department now.
But this is an initiative, you know, that has made
a significant difference in the lives of Gambian teachers. But
(20:48):
more importantly, it's not only Gambian teachers, because the past
two years, on average, we go with about thirty educators,
mostly from New York City, but also from from other
states as well, who come with me to learn about
the culture, the people and the history of the game
beer in order to come back to their classrooms to
enhance educational you know, opportunities for their students. So I
(21:11):
cannot at this point, you know, let this project go
because of the impact it has made on the lives
of gam being teachers. So my family and I, you know,
not only with this initiative, with this funding, but we
have put a lot of our own funds to support
this initive initiative from the beginning. So it's a no
brainer to as I and as I told Laura and Glenn,
(21:33):
you know, the timing of This is just great in
the sense that I remember, you know, the week before
the teacher price sitting on the train because I commute
two hours to the city to the Bronds. I was
sitting on the train, reflecting and praying that I don't
see a way of how I'm going to make this happen,
but I know God, you have a way because you
(21:53):
know our intentions. And I said, you know, so when
I the following week, when we when we were told so,
when I just see if this recognition, it was just like, well,
my prayer has been answered. And then that's what defunding
is going to be going to do.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
This is get connected on one Io six point seven
Light FM. I'm Nina del Rio. We are speaking with
al Hassan Suso, social studies teacher International Community High School
in the Bronx and Emily Chandler, a special education teacher
at a District seventy five school, Lillian Rashkis in Brooklyn.
They are winners of the Flag Award for Teaching Excellence
(22:29):
for twenty twenty five, an annual award celebrating extraordinary New
York City public school teachers who inspire learning through creativity, passion,
and commitment. One of the reasons I love having this
conversation every year is the winners tend to only meet
for the first time during this conversation. I know you
met earlier today, so it's lovely to see you already
(22:50):
have a bit of excitement for each other. I would
like to mention the other winners while we're here, the
other winners who are not joining us. The three K
to fifth grade winner is Angelo Imparadi at p S
seventy five, a math teacher a fifth grade math teacher
where he has made a transformative impact on student achievement
and school culture. In the two years since Angelo Imparadi
(23:13):
began overseeing the school's curriculum, the grade level passing rate
has increased from forty six to sixty six percent. In
his own classroom, that number climbs even higher to seventy
nine percent. Alana O'Donnell is the winner from Queens at
P one seven seven seven Q, the Robin Sue Ward
(23:34):
School for Exceptional Children. She is a special education teacher
in a district's seventy five self contained classroom where only
one of her students is verbal. The others use assistive
devices to communicate. Most of Alana. O'Donnell's teaching takes place
within an urban farm setting, where the curriculum is centered
around operating and maintaining a chicken coop. The winner from
(23:56):
Staten Island is Juliomeya at Neudorp High School. He teaches
a range of business related electives within the Corporate Center
for Business and Technology, a specialized small learning community. Julio
himself is a proud alumnus of Newdorp, teaching a college
credit business course in partnership with the University of Delaware
during zero period. When Julio Maya noticed that freshmen had
(24:19):
already gained a working knowledge of certain programs, he shifted
the focus to more advanced software and Kenrick Small is
the winner from Manhattan, a business and entrepreneurship teacher at
Manhattan Business Academy, a high school with a strong business focus,
one he has played a central role in shaping. He
built the school's business curriculum from the ground up, secured
(24:42):
career and technical education certification for the school, and obtained
the funding that accompanies it. These are just a few
of their achievements. Both of you have many more achievements.
We have not had time to mention but when you
meet your fellow winners and nominees, when you hear about
the work they have done, I wonder what strikes you
about their work, their creativity, and their ambition. Al Hassan,
(25:06):
if you would like to go first, what are your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (25:10):
So I feel like we're just one big family, and
I'm sure Emily will agree with that. I have been
fortunate to be part of many teacher organizations within the
state and across the country, and wherever I go, it
really doesn't matter which state of which country it is.
At the end of the day, we are all on
the same mission. You know, no one goes into this
profession thinking that you know, I'm going to get a
(25:31):
recognition and I'm doing it for the glory. No every
teacher I have ever met, but we all have the
same desire, which is not only to transform the lives
of our students, but to change their family narratives for
generations to come. Like when I take this group of
educators to the Gamber with me every year, one of
the things that you know, when we do the reflection
(25:51):
circle at the end, one of the things they always
say is how the commonalities that they see in the
struggles of Gambian teachers and US teachers, but at the
same time, the joy, the hope, the aspirations for their
students and you can't ask for to be part of
a better community than that.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
And Emily, well, when I look at all these other
great teachers, there's a saying good teachers borrow, great teachers steal.
So I'm thinking about, like, how can I get some
chickens in my school, like Alana school. And I think
it's amazing because I can see how all these teachers
have touched these kids lives in different ways, and I
want to borrow from that. I'm like, how can I
bring some business stuff in with my kids and like
(26:32):
how much can I learn so I can push it
onto them, because like all these teachers bring something different
to the table, but at the end of the day,
they all care a lot, and like that's all that
it takes, really, because like we're all teachers. We're a
certain type and we can be a certain way, but
at the end of the day, like we really want
that success and we pick each other out. Like when
I was talking to Alison earlier, I was just floored
(26:54):
with how much he does for his kids and how
much love he has for his kids, and I'm like,
I see you game sees game right there, and I
love that. And I love being able to just be
surrounded by these teachers. If there's nothing else that's great
about this is how positive this is for teacher community.
And sometimes we take a couple of hits here and there,
and so it's really great to be like, no, we
really are affecting student success here. I love hearing the
(27:16):
numbers on Alisan's school and it's incredible to know that,
like be reminded that it's not just me, it's not
just my school. It's happening all over the city. It's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
The nomination process for next year's winners for the twenty
twenty six Flag Award launches September eighth. Students, parents, principals,
fellow teachers, and other colleagues can nominate New York City
teachers at Flag Award dot org. More details at Flag
Award dot org. Our guests have been al Hassan Suso
(27:47):
representing International Community High School in the Bronx, and Emily
Chandler as special education teacher at Lillian Rashka's School in Brooklyn.
They are two of the Flag Award for teaching at
Explyn's winners for twenty twenty five. Thank you for being
on Get Connected and Happy Summer.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Thank you, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one o six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven Light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to Get Connected. Now that the school
year has ended for New York City Public schools, we
are once again pleased to introduce you to the winners
of the annual Flag Award for Teaching Excellence. Founded by
Glenn and Amanda Furman, the award recognizes and celebrates extraordinary
New York City Public school teachers who inspire learning through creativity, passion,
(00:34):
and commitment. Our guests are al Hassan Suso, social Studies teacher,
International Community High School zero seven X three three four
winner of the Flag Award for Teaching Excellence representing the Bronx,
and Emily Chandler, a special education teacher at a District
seventy five school PS three seventy one K. Lillian Rashkis
(00:55):
and Brooklyn's winner. Congratulations to you both and thank you
for being on the show.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Thanks you so much for having us.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Every year, the Flag Award honors one grand prize winner
from each of the five boroughs, plus one three K
to fifth grade teacher from any Brough and each receives
a twenty five thousand dollars unrestricted cash prize, and the
winning teacher schools will each receive ten thousand dollars. The
full list of winners and finalists is at Flag Award
dot org. We'll start by talking to al Hassan Suso, First,
(01:25):
a veteran history teacher at an international community high school
in the South Bronx. Congratulations on winning the awards, sir,
How did you find out about it? Were you aware
that it existed?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
It was a complete surprise when the Flag Foundation came
to my school a couple of weeks ago. It was
disguised as an assembly for a feature already program that
our school was going to be learning about, and you know,
I was in the classroom preparing the students for it,
and we all came downstairs and I just walked in
(01:59):
and my students started screaming, like what is going on?
And so it was a truly, you know, a very
pleasant surprise. But what made it even more special was
that my family was present, which was you know, really meaningful.
My tree kids were you know, beming with joy seeing
their father recognized for his contribution in the field of education.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
That's fantastic. So you were an immigrant from the Gambia
teaching newly arrived immigrant students. Can you talk about your
personal experience and how that sort of shapes building relationships
with your students.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Yeah. So I came to the US in two thousand
and when I was in eleventh grade. I went to
Pi Keepsi High School, you know, about seventy five miles
north of the city. And I came to this country
with just twenty dollars, two pairs of pants and a shirt,
and an incurable eye disease. But that is the beauty
of America because that September evening, as my flight was
circling over the beautiful skies of New York City, you know,
(02:54):
that was the first time in my life that I
was actually able to see at night because I came
from a country where, you know, we don't usually have
bright lights at night, and the condition that I that
I have, which at the time I didn't know about,
it's difficult for me to basically navigate nighttime activities. So
I enrolled in Pictups High School and I graduated. But
(03:17):
then two weeks before graduating, you know, my grandmother who
raised us her roof collapsed back in the game beer,
and we had to you know, well, I had to
make a decision at that point, you know, do I
pursue my own ambitions because I was already registered in college,
or do I give back to the woman who was
giving me so much. After thinking about it for a while,
the choice became player. I decided to drop all my
(03:39):
classes and took up two full time jobs, working you know,
four pm to midnight at one job and then midnight
to eight am at under a grocery store. They were
right opposite each other in Peckepsie, and I did that
for six years, and I was able to build a
house for her and then for my mom, and then
went back and then went started my higher education journey.
But then that semester, my nineteen year old was diagnosed
(04:01):
with hepatitis B, and the medical facilities in the Gamber
were not advanced to treat such a disease. So one
of the ways we could have saved her life was
to bring her to the US to get the care
that she needed. Long story showed. After going through the
immigration process, she was denied the visa and then four
months later she passed away. And then the eight hours
(04:23):
after she passed away. The grandmother who raised all of us,
who I built the house for, also passed away within
twenty four hours, and then my wall stopped. I flew
back to be with them. But upon returning to the US,
I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.
And then I decided to pursue immigration law to ensure
another family would not go through what my family had
(04:44):
been through. And then I went to the University of
Vermont and I finished my undergrad took the Elsert. So
I was in my advisor's office we were putting together
my law school application when she asked what acque and Alison,
I never asked you this, Why do you actually want
to be a lawyer? I explained to her the story
of my family and everything that transpired. She thought about
(05:06):
it for a while and said, well, if that is
really your mission to empower young immigrant kids in this country,
I'm not sure law school is the place for you.
And I was like, well, why is that?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Said?
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Well, think about it this way. By the time you
defend those kids in the courtroom, one of two things
would be happening. They would either be heading to jail
or they will be in the process of getting deported,
why don't you think about doing something that will ensure
you will never they will never even have to see
the courtroom. After thinking about what that would look like,
education became the obvious choice. As Nelson Mandela said, education
(05:39):
is the weapon one can use to transform the world.
And that is how and why I became a teacher.
And thirteen years later, she is absolutely right. Every day
I wake up and empower those recent immigrants to this
country to live a life that my baby sister did
not have.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
There's something to hear this story, and there must be
something when you're hearing this story when you're twelve years old,
when you're fere teen years old or whatever the age
of the students that you teach, what do you think
your story brings to them? And how do you sort
of help them marshal all their own experiences into something
like leadership.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
So every day I look at my students, I see
myself in them, because there I came to this country
at the same age that most of my students come
to this country, and they are about to impack on
a journey I've already been on, so I know the
road ahead. So then when I started at my school.
That year, our graduation rade was thirty one percent. And
(06:33):
you know, the following year, you know, I was given
the twelfth grade class and the history class, and you know,
with you know, extra effort and you know, support from colleagues,
we were able to raise you know, the US History
you know region's test scores from twenty nine percent that
year to sixty nine percent. And many of our kids
ended up graduating that year, which was very exciting and
(06:56):
we were all excited about it until I found out
only twenty eight percent of and would be going to college,
and based on our school's history, four fifty percent of
them would have dropped out by the end of their
first year. So what that actually means is that only
fourteen percent of our students will make it beyond first
year of college. And I teach in District seventh in
(07:17):
the South Brons, which is considered the second forest congressional
district in the US. So here all thesegrant immigrant kids,
their first destination in the US is District seventh, and
now they have a high school diploma about, no college
education and no skill preparation for a career. So what
are we setting them up for? Well, basically, we are
(07:37):
setting them up for intergenerational poverty. And as I just
mentioned my story, that is not why I went into education.
I went to education to ensure that immigrant kids in
this country become successful and live a life that my
babusinesses did not have. And when I found that out,
I went to my principal and said, well, what are
we doing about this? Because this is totally unacceptable. So
(07:58):
we are trying number of things. I said, okay, great,
but I'm not de tired to actually wait, I am
very impatient. I'm like, you know, so I did my
own research. How can you empower young people to succeed
even if they don't go to college. So through that process,
I came up with five elements. You know, the first
step of success in mindset and attitude. Second, you have
(08:20):
to have a clear and compelling vision for your future. Third,
you have to have these skills of communication. And you
have to be a leader not only others but for yourself.
And finally, you have to be financially literate. I put
that together as a program and presented it to my
principle because I spent all Christmas break that year working
on that, and I presented you her, I said, I
(08:41):
want to do this as a before school program. She
evaluated the whole curriculum and I said, wow, this is
so brilliant. That's only one problem. You want to do
it as a before school program. I said, yes. You know,
our kids are notorious for coming to school and our lead. Yes.
Why do you think they're going to come in an hourly?
I don't know, but I do know one thing. We
(09:02):
all spend time where we see value. If these kids
see value in this, I am sure they will show up.
And I said that with confidence, not knowing how it's
going to turn out. Long story short, ten years into
that program, seventy percent of our twelve graders come to
school and our early and it took our graduation break
from thirty one percent to eighty four point five percent
within five years. And if you speak to my principles,
(09:24):
you will attribute a huge part of that to the
Morning Class because it has become a culture in our
school and one of the things I would forever be
grateful for the Flat Foundation. Even before winning this award,
they have sponsored the Morning Class retreats because every year,
so every year I take them, you know, away for
two retreats. Twice a year. You know, in the fall
(09:46):
we go to Philadelphia, Philly, and then in the spring
we go to Boston. And those retreats have now have
now transformed so many lives over the course of you know,
the last ten years, that I could spend hours recounting
so many transformations that transpired over the course of those
weekend retreats.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
You are listening to get connected. We are with the
Flag Award for Teaching Excellence winners for twenty twenty five.
The Flag Award for Teaching Excellence was founded by Glenn
and Amanda Furman, recognizing and celebrating extraordinary public school teachers
who inspire learning through creativity, passion, and commitment. You can
find the full list of winners at Flag Award dot org.
(10:24):
You're listening to get connected on one oh six point
seven light FM. Amina del Rio. Emily Chandler is our
winner from Brooklyn. Congratulations. Tell us about the experience of winning.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
My principal, Heather Miller, decided that she was going to
completely shock me. She told me about a week prior
that the district was coming to view our students who
had been doing a Morgan book project, and so they'd
been working on this really hard, and she had been
letting me really off the leash. We had gone to
several museums. This was kind of a slightly controversial project
(10:59):
because we did a lot learning outside the city, and
so she told me we were presenting the whole thing
to the district at a symposium. So I got the
kids all set up, I got set up, and then
she walked in and said, I lied to you. And
then I was so surprised, and my husband was standing
there with a giant thing of flowers, and it was
(11:21):
pretty surreal. It's not something you expect. You think you're
going in for a day of work, and then all
of a sudden, people are clapping, and my students didn't
even know, so like they were all very surprised, and
it was an incredible, incredible situation. It's like something that
you can't even imagine being in that in that role
(11:42):
where you're just a teacher and you're doing your job,
but all of a sudden you're getting all these accolades
I think all teachers should be getting, but all of
a sudden, you get what teachers should be getting, and
it feels strange and it feels like like, why is
this happening to me. But it was a beautiful, beautiful experience.
I think more teachers should have it.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
You have taught everything from ELA and financial math to
environmental science. Can you talk a little bit about your
approach and how it has evolved or how you you know,
you tailor it for each group of students.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Oh my gosh. So like teaching special ads A lot
like teaching at McDonald's. They start you off on the fries,
you go to the front counter, you're in the back.
So like every time I teach something, I'm able to
connect it. So if I'm teaching environmental science, well, let's
bring in some of the components of the ELA regents,
let's bring in some of that persuasive writing stuff. I'm
(12:34):
teaching personal finance, cool well, vocabulary words can I bring
in that the kids are going to need later on?
In transition? It's all about trying to tie everything together
and seeing how you're not really ever learning one subject. Students,
especially when they're younger, they learn organically immerse themselves in everything.
So if you have a good project like the more
Morgan book project, Billion Oyster Project. Right now we're getting
(12:57):
hooked up with the national The next genery personal finance grant.
If you have like a project where you can have
the kids attached to it, you can teach them several
different subject matters at once. And if you're working with
kids that can have some behaviors, it's really great to
get them involved academically before you even try to like
get them in the door. Like, if they're engaged, they're
(13:19):
going to be learning no matter what it is. So
if I can teach a kid the science regions while
we're writing a letter to their local official about particulate
matter in our environment, then I'm teaching them on several levels,
and we're kind of working smarter, not harder.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
There you're really also focused on hands on learning experiences.
Your students achieved an impressive eighty percent pass rate in ELA,
even students that may not initially be on a regent's
diploma track. How does the hands on learning experience figure
into that?
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Not every kid can read on their grade level. There's
been a big shift in our district, in District seventy
five that our grade levels are a lot lower. So
I could have a kid for needing to pass the
ELA regents who reads on a second grade level. So
how do I teach that kid the skills. Will we
go to the Museum of Modern Art, we look at
(14:10):
a painting and we use our analysis skills, because those
are the skills that they're going to use when they're writing.
You find a way. You take them to the Chinese
Scholar Garden and you talk about the Meiji Restoration. You
take them there, you actually get their hands wet in
a koi pond, and then start talking about meditation during
that time. We have one of the best cities in
the world, and like the world classroom is what I
(14:33):
like to call it. I take them out there, we
learn everything we can, and then we try to figure
out a way to make it work for these tests.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Let's talk about one of your projects. Specifically, you designed
a project on the environmental impact of pizza ovens in
the city, which had students interviewing business owners and EPA
representatives about ethical implications of environmental regulations. Talk about where
that project came from and the means of it to
teach environmental science and ethics.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Absolutely, this came from the New York City Service Learning Program,
So they set me up with students advocating for the
environment last year and it just so happened that last
year in the spring, they passed a new law that
made it illegal for pizza ovens, the old world ones
that were wood burning to be working in without special
(15:21):
scrubbers being installed in. And it just seems like a
simple slam dunk kind of thing. Oh yeah, let's help
the environment. But I wanted to go with my kids
and investigate it further. So we went to Mancini's Pizza
down in Brooklyn and we talked to the guy and
he actually let us interview him. He gave my kids
free pizza, so like they love him for life. But
(15:43):
we learned that, yeah, this guy wants to help the environment.
These pizza owners wanted to help the environment, but these
scrubbers were going to be fifty thousand dollars, And so
my kids were able to learn that. They were able
to look at the When we talked to the leader
of the EPA for New York City, we learned about
why these pizza ovens were bad, how this particular matter
would clog our lungs. We got to talk a little
(16:05):
bit about the biology of that. We got to work
on our speaking and listening skills because these are special
needs students and those are really key skills. Making eye
contact is something that you're going to need whether you
pass a test or not. And then we were able
to write letters to government officials to talk about that
and talk to our councilman, Justin Brannan about well, how
(16:26):
can we get some funding for these local business owners
that want to do the right thing for the environment
but don't have that kind of funding on hand and
our staples in our community. So the students got to
see several different points of view when they were looking
at this topic. It started as an environmental topic and
then ended as a service learning where they ended up
(16:47):
writing these letters and teaching other young students to make
postcards pizza postcards, to talk to their union excuse me,
their council reps in their locations so they could also
help them in that way. You know, we love pizza,
we're New Yorkers, but we also love our city and
it was kind of cool to get the kids in
the grassroots of that and to see like, well, how
(17:08):
can they make change, How can they talk to adults
about things that matter to them like the environment, and
how can they actually see that change come through? And
what really made me astounded is how every adult I
talked to treated my kids like they were real people,
like Frank Mancini, the guy at the EPA when they
went and they presented in Manhattan, like everyone treated them
(17:31):
like they were right to be justified and talking about
this and so like, my kids got this huge confidence
boost and that translated to a lot of different things,
like being able to learn in this way means that
they were more confident in public. They were more confident
ordering a slice of pizza, which seems like it's something
that you and I can do, but like some of
these kids, that's one of their goals in life.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Our guests are Emily Chandler and al Hassan Suso, two
of the winners of the Flag Award for Teaching Excellence
for twenty twenty five five. You can find out the
full list of winners at Flag Award dot org. You're
listening to get connected on one six point seven light
FM am Nina del Rio. The grand prize winners include
twenty five thousand dollars cash prizes for each of you
in ten thousand dollars for your schools. So with your
(18:16):
twenty five thousand dollars cash prize, what are your plans.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
I haven't really planned too much that money. Some of
that is going to go in my four year old
five twenty nine for college. But we're also just kind
of thinking about what's going on in the economy and
what can we fix or buy before we can afford
to anymore. But we're a lot really excited about the
ten thousand dollars that our schools get because that's going
to be really exciting for our initiatives there.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Do you know what your plans are at the school?
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Yes, So I've been planning extensively on that for a
media archive and maker space for our students. Like I
said earlier, there's been a big push for academic work
from our students that hasn't been as heavy before, and
so a lot of them don't have that confidence or
prior knowledge to fall back on. So if they had
just an archive of other student work that they could
(19:03):
look at artworks, written works, things that could inspire them
and they could work on those assignments or projects. They're
in a space that's conducive to that and inspiring for that.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
And al Hassan the twenty five thousand dollars prize, Can
you tell me about what you might do and the
Gambi a teacher prize as well.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yeah, so for me, the twenty five thousand dollars will
be going to fund the Gambier Teacher Prize initiative. That
is an initiative I started two years ago. As I've mentioned,
I am from the Gambier and so when I visited
the Gambia in twenty nineteen, one of the things I
have learned is how diret the situation is regarding the
(19:43):
educational outcomes for students. And one of the things that
I know for show as an educator is that if
you want to transform any education system, it starts with
the people in the people in front of the room,
which I had the teachers. So three years ago I
initiated this process with the support of the US Ambassador
Sharon Chroma in Indie Gambia to identify and recognize incredible
(20:07):
Gambian educators share their stories so we could use their
stories as a way to attract a recruit, attract and
retain high quality teachers in order to improve educational outcome
for Gambian kids. So then the US State Department, through
the US Embassy was supposed to continue that process of
(20:28):
funding this year, but as we know, with the change
in administration, that is no longer happening because the grant
we were hoping to receive is called the Public Diplomacy Grant,
but that has been canceled by the State Department now.
But this is an initiative, you know, that has made
a significant difference in the lives of Gambian teachers. But
(20:48):
more importantly, it's not only Gambian teachers, because the past
two years, on average, we go with about thirty educators,
mostly from New York City, but also from from other
states as well, who come with me to learn about
the culture, the people and the history of the game
beer in order to come back to their classrooms to
enhance educational you know, opportunities for their students. So I
(21:11):
cannot at this point, you know, let this project go
because of the impact it has made on the lives
of gam being teachers. So my family and I, you know,
not only with this initiative, with this funding, but we
have put a lot of our own funds to support
this initive initiative from the beginning. So it's a no
brainer to as I and as I told Laura and Glenn,
(21:33):
you know, the timing of This is just great in
the sense that I remember, you know, the week before
the teacher price sitting on the train because I commute
two hours to the city to the Bronds. I was
sitting on the train, reflecting and praying that I don't
see a way of how I'm going to make this happen,
but I know God, you have a way because you
(21:53):
know our intentions. And I said, you know, so when
I the following week, when we when we were told so,
when I just see if this recognition, it was just like, well,
my prayer has been answered. And then that's what defunding
is going to be going to do.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
This is get connected on one Io six point seven
Light FM. I'm Nina del Rio. We are speaking with
al Hassan Suso, social studies teacher International Community High School
in the Bronx and Emily Chandler, a special education teacher
at a District seventy five school, Lillian Rashkis in Brooklyn.
They are winners of the Flag Award for Teaching Excellence
(22:29):
for twenty twenty five, an annual award celebrating extraordinary New
York City public school teachers who inspire learning through creativity, passion,
and commitment. One of the reasons I love having this
conversation every year is the winners tend to only meet
for the first time during this conversation. I know you
met earlier today, so it's lovely to see you already
(22:50):
have a bit of excitement for each other. I would
like to mention the other winners while we're here, the
other winners who are not joining us. The three K
to fifth grade winner is Angelo Imparadi at p S
seventy five, a math teacher a fifth grade math teacher
where he has made a transformative impact on student achievement
and school culture. In the two years since Angelo Imparadi
(23:13):
began overseeing the school's curriculum, the grade level passing rate
has increased from forty six to sixty six percent. In
his own classroom, that number climbs even higher to seventy
nine percent. Alana O'Donnell is the winner from Queens at
P one seven seven seven Q, the Robin Sue Ward
(23:34):
School for Exceptional Children. She is a special education teacher
in a district's seventy five self contained classroom where only
one of her students is verbal. The others use assistive
devices to communicate. Most of Alana. O'Donnell's teaching takes place
within an urban farm setting, where the curriculum is centered
around operating and maintaining a chicken coop. The winner from
(23:56):
Staten Island is Juliomeya at Neudorp High School. He teaches
a range of business related electives within the Corporate Center
for Business and Technology, a specialized small learning community. Julio
himself is a proud alumnus of Newdorp, teaching a college
credit business course in partnership with the University of Delaware
during zero period. When Julio Maya noticed that freshmen had
(24:19):
already gained a working knowledge of certain programs, he shifted
the focus to more advanced software and Kenrick Small is
the winner from Manhattan, a business and entrepreneurship teacher at
Manhattan Business Academy, a high school with a strong business focus,
one he has played a central role in shaping. He
built the school's business curriculum from the ground up, secured
(24:42):
career and technical education certification for the school, and obtained
the funding that accompanies it. These are just a few
of their achievements. Both of you have many more achievements.
We have not had time to mention but when you
meet your fellow winners and nominees, when you hear about
the work they have done, I wonder what strikes you
about their work, their creativity, and their ambition. Al Hassan,
(25:06):
if you would like to go first, what are your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (25:10):
So I feel like we're just one big family, and
I'm sure Emily will agree with that. I have been
fortunate to be part of many teacher organizations within the
state and across the country, and wherever I go, it
really doesn't matter which state of which country it is.
At the end of the day, we are all on
the same mission. You know, no one goes into this
profession thinking that you know, I'm going to get a
(25:31):
recognition and I'm doing it for the glory. No every
teacher I have ever met, but we all have the
same desire, which is not only to transform the lives
of our students, but to change their family narratives for
generations to come. Like when I take this group of
educators to the Gamber with me every year, one of
the things that you know, when we do the reflection
(25:51):
circle at the end, one of the things they always
say is how the commonalities that they see in the
struggles of Gambian teachers and US teachers, but at the
same time, the joy, the hope, the aspirations for their
students and you can't ask for to be part of
a better community than that.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
And Emily, well, when I look at all these other
great teachers, there's a saying good teachers borrow, great teachers steal.
So I'm thinking about, like, how can I get some
chickens in my school, like Alana school. And I think
it's amazing because I can see how all these teachers
have touched these kids lives in different ways, and I
want to borrow from that. I'm like, how can I
bring some business stuff in with my kids and like
(26:32):
how much can I learn so I can push it
onto them, because like all these teachers bring something different
to the table, but at the end of the day,
they all care a lot, and like that's all that
it takes, really, because like we're all teachers. We're a
certain type and we can be a certain way, but
at the end of the day, like we really want
that success and we pick each other out. Like when
I was talking to Alison earlier, I was just floored
(26:54):
with how much he does for his kids and how
much love he has for his kids, and I'm like,
I see you game sees game right there, and I
love that. And I love being able to just be
surrounded by these teachers. If there's nothing else that's great
about this is how positive this is for teacher community.
And sometimes we take a couple of hits here and there,
and so it's really great to be like, no, we
really are affecting student success here. I love hearing the
(27:16):
numbers on Alisan's school and it's incredible to know that,
like be reminded that it's not just me, it's not
just my school. It's happening all over the city. It's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
The nomination process for next year's winners for the twenty
twenty six Flag Award launches September eighth. Students, parents, principals,
fellow teachers, and other colleagues can nominate New York City
teachers at Flag Award dot org. More details at Flag
Award dot org. Our guests have been al Hassan Suso
(27:47):
representing International Community High School in the Bronx, and Emily
Chandler as special education teacher at Lillian Rashka's School in Brooklyn.
They are two of the Flag Award for teaching at
Explyn's winners for twenty twenty five. Thank you for being
on Get Connected and Happy Summer.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Thank you, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one o six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
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