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Monday, April 27, 2009

04/27/09 Reader Submitted Question: Just Asking?


Do you even live in Greenwich?

From:
Diane Roina at bert319@aol.com

Comment :

Diane,
What a silly question. When you gave me so much inside information about Principal Damaris Rau and the Hamilton Avenue Building Committee.




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Please send your comments, news tips, press releases and silly questions to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

04/27/09 Opps... Greenwich Roundup Had No Idea You Worked At The Greenwich Time. Your Name has been Irretievably Delete From The Comments Sent In.....



Ouch!


My recent request has been published with my name attatched .

Great! There goes my job. Not that I would lose sleep over that.

In fact, I would probably gain a few hours.


Nonetheless, how about sheilding a guy from obvious harm.

Did you have to pub my name.

Come on....I have contributed in the past and this just slapped me in the face.


What, did you think that nobody would be dumb enough to make those comments if they were still employed there.


Thanks.


COMMENT:
Greenwich Roundup Is Not Sure If Your Pulling His Leg.
Or If Someone Is Setting Someone Up At The Greenwich Time.
Why Would You Write In Using Your Real Name Or At The Very Least Tell Greenwich Roundup To Withhold Your Name?
If This Message Was Really From A Greenwich Time Insider It Gave No Indication That He Or She Now Or Ever Had Worked At The Greenwich Time.
To The Best Of My Knowledge This Name Or Email Address Has Not Comtacted Greenwich Roundup In The Past.
At Any Rate The Name Has Been Removed From The Post.
==========================================================
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04/27/09 PRESS RELEASE:: GHS Headmaster Announces Retirement

Greenwich High School Headmaster, Alan Capasso, has announced that he will
retire effective, June 30, 2009.
See attached for more information.

Kim Eves
Director of Communications
Greenwich Board of Education
290 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830

www.greenwichschools.org

Phone: 203-625-7415
e mail: kim_eves@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Fax: 203-869-8003

GREENWICH HIGH SCHOOL HEADMASTER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

(For immediate release: Greenwich, CT – Monday, April 27, 2009) Greenwich High School Headmaster Alan Capasso has announced his retirement, effective June 30, 2009. Mr. Capasso said, “Serving as the Headmaster of Greenwich High School has been the high point of my career. The students, staff and parents are second to none. After 36 years in the profession, I will be pursuing options that will provide me with more flexibility in my personal time.” Mr. Capasso has been with the Greenwich Public Schools in a leadership position at Greenwich High School for the last ten years; as Assistant Headmaster from 1999 to 2004 and as Headmaster since 2004. In addition to his responsibilities as headmaster, Mr. Capasso currently serves as President of the Fairfield County Association of Secondary School Principals (FCASSP) and is a member of the National Advisory Board for the National Merit Scholarship Association.

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Betty J. Sternberg said, “Mr. Capasso has made a sustained commitment to the Greenwich High School community. Notable is the rapport he established with GHS students and parents. He will be missed.” A hallmark of Mr. Capasso’s tenure as Headmaster has been his focused effort in providing opportunities and encouraging students to be involved in all aspects of the school community. This has resulted in robust participation in student government; a student planned and executed, school-wide, school-spirit generating “House Olympics”; and a significant voice in decisions and initiatives including, the review of secondary education in Greenwich, the Mission of the Greenwich Public Schools, and implementing a school resource officer, among numerous others.

Under Mr. Capasso’s various leadership positions at Greenwich High School over the last 10 years, the high school has achieved numerous milestones, including opening a fifth House; a commendable NEASC accreditation report; increased participation in Advanced Placement (AP) courses while maintaining the achievement scores; fifteen year highs in SAT scores; a record number of merit scholars; and expanded participation in extra-curricular activities and interscholastic sports.

Prior to his appointment as Interim Headmaster at the high school, Mr. Capasso served as Assistant Headmaster for five years. During that time, he was closely involved with planning for the enrollment growth at the high school as a member of the Long Range Planning Steering Committee and as chair of the committee’s Action Team that addressed scheduling and building resources. He was also an integral part of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges’ (NEASC) accreditation process at the high school.

Prior to coming to Greenwich, Mr. Capasso was Director of Educational Technology for the Bridgeport Public Schools, responsible for the educational instructional program and technological support for 39 schools (1998-1999); Coordinator of Technology for Cooperative Educational Services in Trumbull (1998), and for the Trumbull Public Schools (1995-1998). He was Program Leader for Mathematics and Computers for the Trumbull Public Schools (1986-1995), and a Math Teacher at Trumbull High School from 1973-1986.

Mr. Capasso received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1973, a Master of Arts in Mathematics Education in 1976, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Administration and Computers in 1985 from Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT.

The Superintendent will request letters of interest for the appointment of Interim Headmaster/mistress for the period of one year effective July 1, 2009 and/or until the position is filled. The Superintendent expects to announce the appointment of an Interim Headmaster/mistress by the end of this school year. The Interim building leader will have the opportunity to apply for the permanent position

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04/27/09 The Raw Greenwich News Feed: This Just In ....

The Latest Greenwich News Briefs:


Estimated 500 Aquarion customers without water in Greenwich
Greenwich Time
GREENWICH -- About 500 Aquarion Water Company customers are without water, or have low water pressure Monday morning following a water main break near the ...
New York Times
Will a 'Millionaire Tax' Cause an Exodus of Talent?
New York Times
If New York taxes its financiers heavily, it can be sure that Greenwich will grow. Typically, every five years, 43 percent of Americans change houses, ...

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04/27/09 Is Greenwich Resident Alan Schwartz, the last CEO of Bear Stearns, is poised to become Goldman's next big dealmaker.

Photo: Greenwich Resident Alan Schwartz became CEO of Bear Stearns two months before it collapsed.


NEW YORK (Fortune) -- One of the few remaining mysteries from the fall of Bear Stearns is where's Alan Schwartz? Schwartz, as you may remember, was the affable M&A banker who had the misfortune of becoming Bear Stearns CEO in January 2008, two months before the 85-year-old firm collapsed.

That mystery may soon be solved: Alan Schwartz appears to be headed to Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), the premier Wall Street investment bank turned bank holding company. According to a source familiar with the negotiations going on between Goldman and Schwartz, the chances are about "50-50" that Schwartz will soon be a partner-level Managing Director at Goldman (of which there are now about 400, out of 27,898 employees worldwide.)

.....Schwartz and his second wife, Nancy Seaman - the chairman of Houlihan Lawrence Realty Corporation - live in Greenwich, Connecticut. ...

PLEASE SEE:


For decades, social scientists, policy wonks, and politicians have studied and debated what's come to be known as the "culture of poverty." The consensus: A group of Americans is set apart from the mainstream by geography, class, and income. Its members adhere to norms that don't apply to the rest of society and engage in self-destructive behavior that imposes significant costs on the nation at large. The culture of poverty has made for potent politics (remember Ronald Reagan's fictitious welfare queen?) and spawned best-selling polemics from the right (Charles Murray) to the left (Jonathan Kozol).

We don't hear as much about the culture of poverty these days. Perhaps it's because the market turmoil is making us all feel a little poorer. Or perhaps it's because a highly visible group is now exhibiting all the outward appearances of the underclass: the overclass....
....... that are sealed off socially from the rest of the world - the Hamptons on Long Island; Manhattan's Fifth Avenue; Greenwich, Conn. Because they rarely interact with people of middle-class means (save the odd doctor, lawyer, or interior designer), ......In his book The Age of Abundance, libertarian author Brink Lindsey boils down the difference between the desperately poor and the blissfully rich to an ability to focus on the long term. "Members of the underclass operate within such narrow time horizons and circles of trust that their lives are plagued by chronic chaos and dysfunction," he says. By contrast, elites are well-organized long-term thinkers. Riiiiight. "Modern Wall Street is a system," says Charles Morris—a former Chase banker and author of The Trillion Dollar Meltdown—"that rewards crazy risk-taking in the short term without regard for the long-term consequences."

Critics point to a pervasive sense of victimhood in the underclass. But listen to what Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz told the troops after his firm succumbed to wounds that were almost entirely self-inflicted. "We here are a collective victim of violence," he said. Yep, just another case of the Man keeping the Man down.
Conservative critics constantly carp that the culture of poverty has encouraged a sense of dependency on Washington. Of course, in recent months, the bureaucracy—the Federal Reserve, the Federal Housing Authority, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac—has generally ignored the struggles of poor homeowners. Yet it vaulted into action to save the bankers from their own disastrous bets. When Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth-largest investment bank, approached insolvency, the Feds orchestrated JPMorgan's acquisition of it....

...The overclass is better connected, and it can cause more damage. "Poor inner-city kids selling drugs to suburban kids can harm people," Mayer says. "But financial markets can bring thousands and thousands of people to ruin."
The pernicious culture of affluence merits further study. When self-proclaimed rogue sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh sought to learn about the culture of poverty, he hung out in Chicago's notorious Robert Taylor Homes and befriended drug dealers. The tale is chronicled in his fascinating book Gang Leader for a Day. If he really wants to understand the workings of a dysfunctional class that's threatening American values and taxing national resources, Venkatesh, who teaches at Columbia, should move into a co-op on the Upper East Side and get a job on Morgan Stanley's trading desk. He can call his next book Hedge-Fund Manager for a Day.


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04/27/09 The Raw Greenwich News Feed: This Just In .....

Photo: Greenwich Police officer Brian Tornga salutes the flag at the Silver Shield Association's award ceremony to honor officers who did something in the line of duty. Officer Tonga was awarded Officer of the Year for 2008. (Helen Neafsey/Greenwich Time photo)

Greenwich officers honored at police union award ceremony
Greenwich Time

Three police officers received officer of the year awards Sunday--two for investigating the 2007 drowning death of a town boy and one for confronting an armed Pemberwick grandfather just minutes after he allegedly killed his ex-daughter-in-law in 2008.

The awards were handed out during a ceremony honoring dozens of officers held by the town's police union, the Silver Shield Association.

Detective Sgt. Tom Kelly and Detective Jeff Stempien were awarded officer of the year for 2007 after they worked to charge David Lionetti, owner of Stamford-based Shoreline Pools company, with second-degree manslaughter. According to police, the pool company knowingly flouted safety precautions that could have prevented the boy's death. Both officers were saluted as officer of the year for 2007.......

The award ceremony, held at the Western Greenwich Civic Center, takes place every few years to recognize officers who went above and beyond the call of duty ...

AP mocks Al Gore's lack of ignorance
Media Matters for America
They propped up a dim-witted Texan (by way of Greenwich Country Day, Andover, Harvard, and Yale) who had run business after business into the ground, ...

Sites of hearings on tolls questioned
Stamford Times
Lawmakers from Greenwich
, Stamford and other towns near the border say the hearing sites don't make sense and may make it difficult for residents of border ...

Local Announcements
Hartford Courant

... Connie Jones, boys tennis, Greenwich; Rich Zadraga, boys track, Windham Tech; Pat Ryan, boys volleyball, ...

JPMorgan Hit with Madoff Lawsuit
Newsinferno.com

... offering investors a way to leverage their bets on the future performance of two Fairfield Greenwich Group hedge funds that invested with Madoff. ...

PLEASE SEE:

Fairfield Greenwich Money Found In The Vaults Of Jp Morgan Chase
Lawyers Representing Greenwich Fairfield May Be Taking Chase To Court

Fairfield Greenwich Investors Question The Timing Of JP Morgan's Withdrawal - They Say Part Of That JP Morgan Stash Belongs To Them

Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel's Investors WONDER IF JPMorgan Saw Trouble Brewing And Got Out Before The Storm.

JP Morgan Chase Says The Bank "Became Concerned About The Lack Of Transparency" As It Reviewed Its Investments Linked To Bernard Madoff

Why Wasn't Greenwich Resident Walter Noel Concerned About The "Lack Of Transparency" At Madoff's Firm?Why Didn't Walter Noel Tell His Investors About Chase's Withdrawal?

NYTimes.com
JPMorgan Chase says that its potential losses related to Bernard L. Madoff, the man accused of engineering an immense global Ponzi scheme, are “pretty close to zero.” But what some angry European investors want to know is when the bank cut its exposure to Mr. Madoff — and why.
As early as 2006, the bank had started offering investors a way to leverage their bets on the future performance of two hedge funds that invested with Mr. Madoff. To protect itself from the resulting risk, the bank put $250 million of its own money into those funds.

But the bank suddenly began pulling its millions out of those funds in early autumn, months before Mr. Madoff was arrested, according to accounts from Europe and New York that were subsequently confirmed by the bank. The bank did not notify investors of its move, and several of them are furious that it protected itself but left them holding notes that the bank itself now says are probably worthless

A spokeswoman, Kristin Lemkau, said the bank withdrew from the Madoff-linked funds last fall after “a wide-ranging review of our hedge fund exposure.” Ms. Lemkau acknowledged, however, that the bank also “became concerned about the lack of transparency to some questions we posed as part of our review.”

Please Also See:

Fairfield Investor Suit Says Actions Rose to Fraud
Bloomberg

By David Glovin -- Fairfield Greenwich Group, the hedge fund that steered $7 billion to Bernard Madoff, faces new claims of fraud by ...

Madoff unit auctioned as part of thorny asset recovery
Reuters
... out of a Madoff "feeder fund" run by Fairfield Greenwich Group, the $12.8 million of Florida plaintiff MLSMK Investments Co would not have been lost. ...

Mexican Peso, Stocks, Bonds Tumble as Swine Flu Outbreak Grows
Bloomberg
The outbreak “comes at a very bad time,” said Benito Berber, an economist at RBS Greenwich Capital Markets in Greenwich, Connecticut. ...

Spizzwinks(?) bring Burmese choir on tour

Yale Daily News

The choir arrived in San Francisco on April 19, and then flew to the East Coast to perform in New York City, Greenwich, Conn., and New Haven. ...

Law would let science students refuse to dissect animals

Greenwich Time
Livvy Floren, D-Greenwich, voted for it. Floren said her major concern was making sure it was not an unfunded mandate on schools and that there were ...

The state of Greenwich birds on Earth Day 2009

Greenwich Citizen
By Anne W. Semmes
Earth Day 2009 found the state of our Greenwich birds in increasing peril. "The changes are dramatic," said Tom Baptist, ...

#2 Diplomats Stop #4 Bullets to Earn Centennial Crown

LaxPower
Junior Lexie Hearn (Old Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) finally cracked the board with a free position goal at 12:33. After F&M turned in a free position score ...

Boys lacrosse: Tigers stay unbeaten with win over Somers

Ridgefield Press
The Tigers will travel to Greenwich for a showdown with another of the FCIAC's top teams this Wednesday at 6. Greenwich is currently 6-1 with its only loss ...

Faux Hedge Funds Proliferate

Barron's
In the era of Bernard Madoff, whose Ponzi scheme humiliated funds-of-funds operators Fairfield Greenwich and Tremont and tarnished the industry, ...

Laura Candler named Watson Fellow

Newnan Times-Herald
The other recipient this year from University of the South is Emily Beeson, of Greenwich, Conn. Since 1985, when Sewanee was selected as one of the Watson ...

Obama Loves The Rich

Forbes

New Orleans hasn't been rebuilt, but the government is hard at work on Greenwich, Conn., and Abu Dhabi....

Pools scramble to meet safety rule

Norwalk Advocate
By Lisa Chamoff
GREENWICH -- The town's health director worries that some Greenwich pools won't be able to open for the Memorial Day weekend if they don't ...

Campbell breaks record as Mules advance

Colby College Mules
Wesleyan cut the lead to four goals four times in the second half before Chukwu tallied off an assist from Allie Lynch (Greenwich, Conn). ...

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04/27/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Advocate / Greenwich Time Newspapers


Please understand that many Hearst Newspaper employees were fire , because of managerial incompetence

Dear Editor,

I wonder if you would be kind enough to pub (and encourage the Greenwich Post and others) an article encouraging companies to take advantage of the Advocate/Greenwich Times' very talented work staff that is being laid off.

The mismanagement here at the newspapers is criminal. I have never met a more disrespectful and disgraceful group of individuals.

Thank you in advance.

NAME NOW WITHHELD BY REQUEST



COMMENT:

Dear Anonymous,
As you know Greenwich Roundup has had a nasty reputation of as being a strong critic of Greenwich Time reporting in general and of Greenwich Time management in particular.
Some in in Greenwich society would characterize it as cruel, ruthless and somewhat crude and lewd.
Others in Greenwich society would say that criticism of the haughty Greenwich Time and it's management was long over do.
It is clear that the corporate owners new that they had a management problem, because the went through 5 editors in less than a year. First we had Joe Pisani, then David Warner, then Jim Zebora, then Bruce Hunter and now Bruce McCumber is the new editor of the Greenwich Time.
Hearst Newspapers has went so far as to replace the Greenwich Time's Publisher earlier this year.
Chances are that many of us in Greenwich know someone who has lost his or her job this year.

Being cut loose involuntarily – whether their fault or not – is devastating to most people.

Think about it: You're not needed or wanted. You've been rejected, pushed away, kicked to the curb.
It is much like when very good town employees were cut loose, after Greenwich Republicans wasted millions of millions on poorly managed project after project. So much money was wasted that there was no rainy day fund to see us through the current storm.

It is similar when the Greenwich Board of Education let staffers go after Frank Mazza wasted multi - millions in the Hamilton Avenue School fiasco.

Job loss is a disorienting experience.Individuals experiencing job loss grieve and mourn the loss of their job, security, routines, friendships and future.
I am sure there is anger and resentment for the lost years spent devoted to the Greenwich Time and the effort exerted to climb the ladder in the journalism field.
When interviewing for jobs, the former Greenwich Time employees are expected to dazzle interviewers with confidence, a tough assignment for someone who's feeling like an also-ran.
In the past Greenwich Roundup has had dealings with a Greenwich Time named Martin Cassidy who Greenwich Roundup felt performed improperly. Martin told me that he had been pressured to back off stories by Ex-Greenwich Time Managing Editor Jim Zebora.
Because of this Martin Cassidy And Jim Zebora have been a strong focus of Greenwich Roundup's reporting about the Greenwich Time. At one point last December Martin Cassidy's father wrote in to complain about Greenwich Roundup's coverage of Martin.
On reflection, Greenwich Roundup's coverage of reporters like Martin Cassidy was somewhat unfair, because they were simply stuck in the middle and victims of bad management.
Further, if the truth was told, Martin Cassidy is an excellent and very talented writer.
Greenwich Roundup wishes that he had the command of the English language that Martin has.
Support staff that has been let go at the Greenwich Time are truly victims of the Greenwich Time's failed management. If any of these support people had performed poorly they would have been let go a long time ago.
In fact any recently fired Greenwich Time / Stamford Advocate support person has survived a couple of years of multiple job cuts and if obviously not "a corporate body just taking up space."
Obviously, these support personnel were some of the best in Hearst Newspaper's 500 some person Connecticut Newspaper Group.
So yes Greenwich Roundup encourages any employer to consider strongly any Hearst Newspaper job candidate.
It is true that Greenwich Roundup has wished for Hearst Newspaper President Steven Swartz to clean house at the Greenwich Time.
But now there has been multiple house cleanings.
Greenwich Roundup says, be careful what you wish for, because it just might come true.
This last Hearst Newspaper cut has hurt 80 families in Fairfield County.
From Bridgeport to Danbury to Greenwich.
To any Hearst newspaper employee that Greenwich Roundup employee like Martin Cassidy That He might have unfairly reported on ...... Greenwich Roundup apologizes.

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04/27/09 Today's Greenich Post Headlines......

Mullen honored as national teacher of the year

Greenwich Post
President Barack Obama will announce Greenwich, Connecticut's Distinguished Teacher, Anthony Mullen as the 2009 National Teacher of the Year White ...

Health department participates in national STD initiative

Greenwich Post
The Greenwich Department of Health urges sexually active Greenwich residents to “Get Yourself Tested" (GYT) for stds. According to the Centers for Disease ...

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04/27/09 GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOL'S PRESS RELEASE: Tony Mullen is the NATIONAL Teacher of the Year!



"Yes Tony Mullen Can !!!!!"

***************************
***************************


The CCSSO has just sent a press release stating that:


President Obama will announce, on Tuesday, Tony Mullen as the 2009
NATIONAL Teacher of the Year!



See attached for the National Release as well as a Greenwich
Release/Invitation to a Reception/Press Conference on May 4th to
congratulate Tony upon his return from D.C.!

This information is EMBARGOED per the National Teacher of the Year program
until 12:01AM tomorrow, Monday, April 27, 2009.


This means no web, no radio, no TV until AFTER midnight tonight!

Thanks!
Kim

Kim Eves
Director of Communications
Greenwich Board of Education
290 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830

http://www.greenwichschools.org/

Phone: 203-625-7415
e mail: kim_eves@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Fax: 203-869-8003

PRESS RELEASE 1 OF 2

Page 1
http://www.greenwichschools.org/


DISTRICT’S DISTINGUISHED TEACHER NAMED
NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR!


Community Reception and Press Conference Planned

EMBARGOED for release : 12:01AM, Monday, April 27, 2009


(GREENWICH, CT - Monday, April 27, 2009) President Barack Obama will announce Greenwich, Connecticut’s Distinguished Teacher, Anthony Mullen as the 2009 National Teacher of the Year at a White House ceremony on Tuesday, April 28, 2009. Please see accompanying press release from the Council of Chief State School Officers’ National Teacher of the Year Program. Mr. Mullen is in Washington D. C. this week for the announcement and Gala celebration with State Teachers of the Year from across the country. Upon his
return to the District, on Monday, May 4, 2009 the Greenwich Public Schools and their co-sponsors will host a congratulatory reception for Mr. Mullen open to the Greenwich community.

The press and community are invited to attend:


A COMMUNITY RECEPTION TO HONOR & CONGRATULATE
Mr. Anthony Mullen: 2009 National Teacher of the Year


Monday, May 4, 2009
4:00pm – 4:40pm Speakers
4:40pm-5:00pm Press Conference
4:40pm-5:30pm Reception


Arch School @ Milbank, 180 East Elm Street, Greenwich, CT


The reception and related activities are co-sponsored by
The Greenwich Board of Education and Public Schools, The Greenwich Distinguished Teachers Awards Committee, The Greenwich High School PTA and The Greenwich Alliance for Education

Important Notice to Press:


Any and all interviews/filming/photographs with Mr. Anthony Mullen on the premises of Arch School, with the exception of the 5/4 Press Conference noted above, must be scheduled through the Greenwich Public Schools Communications Office. Unscheduled press stops at the Arch School are extremely disruptive to the educational process. Therefore, at the request of Mr. Mullen and his colleagues at the Arch School, please schedule an appointment for any and all interviews, filming, photographs, etc. by contacting:


Kim Eves, Director of Communications, Greenwich Public Schools at 203-625-7415 or kim_eves@greenwich.k12.ct.us


Reporters/Photographers that arrive at Arch School without an appointment will not be granted access or an interview.

Press Release 2 Of 2

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE, 12:01AM, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2009


CCSSO Contacts:


Jon Quam, 202-336-7047
Andy Drewlinger, 202-336-7011




ING Contact:


Audria Belton Benn, 770-980-5715


Connecticut Special Education Teacher to be Named
National Teacher of the Year at White House Ceremony


Washington, DC, April 27, 2009 – “A teacher can receive no greater reward than the knowledge
that he or she helped recover a lost student.”


That statement by Anthony Mullen comes from a lifetime of service in the public sector, first as a New York City police officer and then, to further transform the fractured lives of young people in crisis, as a teacher and mentor of teenagers who truly need a second chance.

Because of his innovative approach, community focus, and teamwork with other teachers,
Mullen will be named 2009 National Teacher of the Year by President Barack Obama at a White
House ceremony on Tuesday, April 28, 2009. Also recognized at this event will be the 2009
state teachers of the year.


The National Teacher of the Year Program, sponsored by the ING Foundation, is a project of
the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). CCSSO is a nationwide, nonprofit
organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in
the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S.
extra-state jurisdictions.

“Mullen is exactly the type of educator we want to acknowledge. He
believes in and encourages collaboration between and among teachers and school leaders as
he knows this brings the right focus on the student,” said Gene Wilhoit, executive director of
CCSSO. “We at CCSSO are supportive and working toward creating a collaborative and
student-centered 21 st century educator development system and are pleased to have our
National Teacher of the Year reflect our values and direction in this area of work.”


The National Teacher of the Year Program focuses public attention on teaching excellence and
is the oldest and most prestigious awards program for teachers. According to Rhonda Mims,
president of the ING Foundation, ING is proud to collaborate with CCSSO to celebrate the
national and state teachers of the year.

"We applaud Mr. Mullen and all the state teachers of the
year for their efforts to advance education. ING is committed to honoring excellence in
education, and it’s important that we support all educators who are empowering our children to
achieve a better future for themselves,” Mims said.


Mullen, a ninth through twelfth grade special education teacher at The ARCH School, an
alternative education branch of Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut, is the 59 th National Teacher of the Year. He will begin a year as a full-time national and international
spokesperson for education on June 1, 2009.


Providing passion, professionalism and perseverance are the keys to his drive as an educator.
As Mullen explains, of all three: ”passion is the noblest of the trio because it ignites a flame too
bright to be ignored by students. A teacher must project passion in the classroom because this
powerful emotion sparks the learning process in children and motivates them to remember key
concepts and ideas. Students can feel the energy, enthusiasm, and creativity radiating from a
teacher and realize that what is being taught is important and worthwhile.”


“Professionalism,” he says, “means that teaching is an avocation and not a vocation. The
professional teacher must move beyond existing models of educational theory and philosophy
and become an artist and a creator. Teachers are entrusted with the task of creating intelligent,
ethical, and productive young adults--a job achieved by understanding the many shades and
hues of children and how they learn.”


And for Mullen perseverance is the ability to teach any student, particularly children diagnosed
with behavioral and emotional disabilities. Such students “slide quickly down the ladder of ‘a
continuum of educational services’ until they land in self-contained classrooms or drop out,” he
says. “These students desperately want teachers to colorize their black and white world but are
unable to convey their unique needs. Teachers must find the resolve to teach and mentor these
fragile students because we represent hope and the promise of a better tomorrow.”


Sharon Turshen, the Greenwich district’s assistant director of pupil personnel services, is
especially impressed with Mullen’s ability to connect with his students. “He establishes rapport
with students who have not been able to develop relationships with other adults in school, and
in many cases, at home as well.” she says. “He commands such respect in the classroom that
students exhibit few, if any, behavioral issues. His teaching style, high behavioral expectations
and concern for his students have resulted in a classroom environment that is focused on
learning and mutual respect.”

Turshen adds, “Mr. Mullen is a master teacher who seems to have a natural ability to engage
and motivate students and push them to perform at levels higher than they thought possible. As
a result of Mr. Mullen’s strong skills and success with students, other teachers have come to
observe him teach and he has served as a mentor and coach to staff. In all he does, Mr. Mullen
approaches his work with extraordinary effort, a commitment to serving youth, professionalism,
high expectations, humor, a flexible cooperative attitude, and a smile on his face. He is an
outstanding professional who has earned the respect of all with whom he works and has
positively affected the lives of students.”


Mullen was born in New York City, in the Bronx, on May 7, 1960, and graduated in 1978 from
Flushing High School in Flushing, NY. Due to family circumstances when he was young,
college attendance along with a desire to become a teacher were deferred for full-time work,
first in a factory assembly line then for 20 years as a New York City police officer, all the while
saving money out of his salary to eventually go to college. At the time he was ready for higher
education he chose Long Island University because its program accommodated the fluctuating
schedule of police officers and fire fighters. He received a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice
from the University in 1990.


Continuing through the 1990s with the NYPD, Mullen had many opportunities to work with
troubled teenagers--young people he describes as “destined for prison unless they received the
benefits of a quality education and positive adult role models.” He wanted to be that role model
so consequently he earned a master’s degree in Elementary Education and Special Education
from Mercy College in New York in 2001.

Retiring from the police department because he wanted to teach and mentor teenagers who needed a second chance, Mullen says, “I actively sought teaching positions that included the job description ‘working with students with severe behavioral or emotional problems.’ I knew that my biography and work experience would provide me the empathy and skills necessary to help such young people.”


During his first year of teaching in 2001-2002, Mullen taught special education in grades seven
and eight at Northern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services in Yorktown
Heights, New York. He then went to The Arch School where he has taught for the past seven
years.

He is married to Susan Mullen and they have three children, John, Andrea, and Thomas.
A committee of representatives from 15 national education organizations chooses the National
Teacher of the Year from among the state teachers of the year, including those representing
American Samoa, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the District of Columbia,
Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The other 2009 National
Teacher of the Year finalists are Alex Kajitani, a mathematics teacher at Mission Middle School
in Escondido, California; Susan Elliott, an English and social studies teacher at Highlands
Ranch High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado; and Cynthia Cole Rigsbee, a reading
teacher at Gravelly Hill Middle School in Efland, North Carolina.


State teachers of the year are selected on the basis of nominations by students, teachers,
principals, and school district administrators throughout the states. Applications are then
submitted to CCSSO, where the national selection committee reviews the data on each state
candidate and selects the four finalists. The selection committee then personally interviews
each finalist before naming the National Teacher of the Year.

Additional information on the National Teacher of the Year Program can be accessed at http://c/Documents+and+Settings/jonq/Local+Settings/Temporary+Internet+Files/OLK8/www.ntoy.org.
About the Council of Chief State School Officers:


The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit
organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in
the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S.
extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on
major educational issues. The Council seeks member consensus on major educational issues
and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress,
and the public.


ABOUT ING:


ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments, life insurance
and retirement services to over 85 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 40 countries. With a diverse workforce of about 125,000 people, ING is dedicated to setting the standard in helping our clients manage their financial future...

In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING) family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial
services to retail and institutional clients, which includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual
funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment
management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and reinsurance. ING holds top-
tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves over 29 million customers across the nation.
ING’s diversity management philosophy and commitment to workforce diversity, diversity
marketing, corporate citizenship and supplier diversity fosters an inclusive environment for
employees that supports a distinctive product and service experience for the financial services consumer.

For more information, visit www.ing.com/us.



About the ING Foundation


The ING Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in the communities where ING
operates and its employees and customers live. Through charitable giving and employee
volunteerism, the foundation focuses on sustainable programs in the areas of financial literacy,
children's education and diversity.


For more information, visit http://www.ing-usafoundation.com/.

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