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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

06/08/10 Greenwich Representative for the 2011 CT Teacher of the Year Program

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sidney A. Freund has announced the selection
of Ms. Rita Baker as the Greenwich Public Schools representative for the
2011 Connecticut Teacher of the Year program. 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

SUPERINTENDENT SELECTS GREENWCH REPRESENTATIVE FOR
2011 STATE TEACHER OF THE YEAR PROGRAM

Rita Baker, Greenwich High School World Language Teacher

(For immediate release: Tuesday, June 8, 2010 – Greenwich, CT)

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sidney A.Freund has announced the selection of Ms. Rita Baker as the Greenwich Public Schools representative for the2011 Connecticut Teacher of the Year program. Ms. Baker has taught World Languages – German and French –to Greenwich High School students for 35 years.

Ms. Baker will be recognized by the Board of Education at itsJune 24, 2010 meeting at Town Hall, 7:00PM.Dr. Freund said, “Rita ignites a spark in every student who enters her class. She seeks out and brings out the bestin each student. I was impressed with her ability to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of each of herstudents. Her ability in this area is skilled, purposeful and highly effective.

Rita has been described as the “souland spirit” of the World Language Department, her influence and impact on the high school extends far beyondthe classroom. She will represent Greenwich very well in the State’s program.”Ms. Baker will also be honored by The Distinguished Teachers Awards Committee and by the GreenwichKiwanis Club at the Board of Education meeting on June 24 th . The Kiwanis Club will present Ms. Baker withthe Joseph Mitchell Kaye Award. Mr. Kaye was a past President of the Greenwich Kiwanis Club, a LieutenantGovernor of the Kiwanis Club for the New England District, and served on the Greenwich Board of Education.Ms. Baker is one of the six teachers selected and honored by the Distinguished Teachers Awards Committee thisyear in April. Throughout the month of May, Dr. Freund reviewed the nomination packets submitted for each ofthe Distinguished Teachers, spent time in each of their classrooms, debriefed the observations with each teacherand with their principal, and reviewed essays submitted as part of the selection process.Bio Brief: Rita BakerA lifelong resident of Greenwich, a Greenwich High School graduate, and an educator for thirty-five years at thehigh school, Rita Baker is committed to each student that walks through her classroom door. In ‘Frau’ Baker’sclass - no matter their proclivity for language learning - each student is engaged in the pursuit of languageacquisition, the respect for learning, and in the study of different cultures.

Many of her students continue theirlanguage studies in college and throughout their lives. Ms. Baker is not only the ‘go to’ teacher when her
colleagues need guidance, she is the consummate learner herself.

She has immersed herself in learning newtechnologies, such as the SmartBoard, to enhance instruction and bring German and French cultures alive in herclassroom.Ms. Baker began teaching at Greenwich High School in 1975, as an English as a Second Language (ESL) andFrench teacher. She developed the original ESL program at the high school and wrote the curriculum for thegrowing, multi-level program.

In 1983, she became a German teacher, taking over a floundering program andturning it into a language of interest for the students, doubling the number of classes. She subsequentlyexpanded the curriculum and added Level 4 and Advanced Placement classes. Since 2002,

Ms. Baker has addedLearning Facilitator and Staff Development Coach to her responsibilities. She has been lauded by her colleaguesfor her mentorship in submitting their BEST portfolios and in working towards tenure, and for her expertise andavailability to coach teachers as they strive to address the needs of their students. In 1999, she chaired the worldlanguage self-study committee for NEASC Accreditation and she is currently working in the World LanguageProgram Coordinator in he program’s curriculum review.

Ms. Schenker commented that Ms. Baker’scontributions to the program revisions “made a stunning impact on the entire K-12 curriculum document.”

Ms. Baker received her Bachelor of Arts in French and German from Duke University, Durham, NC in 1975, graduating summa cum laude.

She received her Masters in Teaching of English as a Second Language fromColumbia University’s Teachers College, NY, NY in 1980

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