When schools moved to remote learning in March 2020, second grade special education teacher Andrew Chiapetta knew Google Classroom would not be appropriate for his young students. In the week between when in-person classes ended and remote learning began, he built from scratch a website that functioned as a virtual classroom. Over the summer, he used his self-taught coding skills to improve it so that in the fall, it included two-way direct communication with the students, individualized scheduling, video lessons, assignments, and examples of classmates' work. The response was so positive—from students, parents, and faculty—that Andrew adapted the website to be used by the entire grade, mentoring his colleagues on coding in the process.

“Everywhere you look in the building, there's a piece of her,” says Patricia Lockhart’s principal. And when you peruse the list of programs she has created and administered throughout her 30 years of teaching, it’s no wonder. It’s her advocacy work and grant-writing on behalf of her students and the causes they deem important that stands out. Her class turned a personal tragedy into an opportunity to save lives through their fight for new federal policy on fire escapes; they created a humanitarian relief project for refugees in Liberia ( where many students’ families are from); and they started a foundation to care for the wetlands across the school. Her soap box derby program started as a classroom lesson on simple machines and has evolved into a city-wide competition where winners compete nationally.

When music classes at Dana Monteiro’s Harlem high school nearly doubled in size, teaching traditional band or jazz was no longer feasible, especially when most students had no prior musical experience. He had an epiphany soon after, while vacationing in Brazil: Samba. Not only is the genre more inclusive for large groups of performers, but it’s also accessible for beginners. Monteiro began drum lessons upon his return, and ultimately transformed his music department to center around Samba. The change has opened a new world of music to his students, and over the years, he has brought the Samba program to nearly a dozen other schools through a nonprofit he founded, “A Life with Drums.”

Books have the power to transport readers into another world, and Cheryl Rizzo is the kind of English Language Arts teacher who takes it one step further by transforming her classroom—real and virtual—to enhance what a class is reading. Over the years, her classroom has become a coffee shop, a yoga studio, and a campsite. When school moved online, her students created a virtual escape room when reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She nurtures her students’ creativity and empowers them to contribute to lesson plans. She created a student ELA advisory group in which the kids vote their representatives who serve as liaisons between her and the grade. She also founded “Cookies and Conversations,” a book club where students, parents, and faculty members take action alongside the texts they read.

Penelope Smetters-Jacono built the Celia Cruz Bronx High School band department from scratch, and has spent nearly two decades fortifying it by creating a pipeline of passionate student musicians and fighting for equity in music education. She founded a free summer program for middle school students interested in music, and those who complete this program automatically gain entry to the high school. Three former music students are now middle school band teachers, and they help promote their beloved former teacher’s program to their students. In 2020, her band was a finalist at the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Festival, the most prestigious and competitive high school jazz competition in the country—a first for a New York City high school band.