Library of Congress Selects Early Elementary Teacher-in-Residence
Teresa St. Angelo, a kindergarten teacher from Manalapan, New Jersey, has been selected to serve as the 2016-2017 Teacher-in-Residence at the Library of Congress.
Since 2000, the Library has recruited educators to work with its Educational Outreach office to help teachers and school librarians incorporate the Library’s digitized primary sources into high-quality instruction. The Educational Outreach office is responsible for directing and developing the Library’s efforts to make its resources accessible, relevant and compelling to the nation’s K-12 community.
During the past two decades, the office has used digital technology and its collective educational expertise to bring the Library’s collections—and powerful strategies for integrating them—into classrooms across the country. This is the first year that an early elementary educator has been selected for this opportunity.
St. Angelo has been a kindergarten teacher with the Manalapan-Englishtown School District for 18 years. She earned her B.A. from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and her M.S. in Special Education from Walden University. In addition to teaching in Manalapan, Teresa taught both preschoolers and undergraduate students in the Rutgers Nutritional Sciences Preschool. At Ocean County College Planetarium, she produced and presented children’s programs combining stories with the stars. She was presented with a Teacher of the Year Governor’s Award in her school district and has been recognized by NASA for contributing to children’s education. St. Angelo is also a published author of children’s literature.
Since participating in the Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institute in 2011, St. Angelo has presented primary-source-based workshops at kindergarten conferences and for professional workshops in her school district. She was a contributing author to the 2014 ALA publication “Interacting with History: Teaching with Primary Sources,” edited by Katharine Lehman.
Each Teacher-in-Residence undertakes a project to benefit his or her home school or district to be implemented during the following academic year. For her project, St. Angelo will create primary-source portfolios for teachers in grades K-2.
“Primary sources can be magical teaching tools, even with—and perhaps especially with—the youngest learners,” said Lee Ann Potter, the Library’s director of Educational Outreach. “My team and I are very excited to work with and learn from Teresa.”
To be considered for the Teacher-in-Residence position, candidates must submit an application along with a current resume, project plan, letters of recommendation and a letter from a school or district authorizing official approving the personnel agreement. Applications are evaluated based on the teacher’s creativity and willingness to contribute to the educational community, as evidenced by description of past activities and recommendation letters, and the feasibility and value of the proposed project.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov, register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov and use its specialized educational resources at loc.gov/teachers/.
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