Congratulations to Mr. Stephen Quaranta for being named December’s Teacher of the Month! Quaranta is an ELA teacher at William W. Bodine High School that has and continues to make an impression on young lives. Quaranta is head of the ELA department at Bodine and was nominated by his former teacher’s assistant. His impact and mentorship made such an impact on her, that she nominated Quaranta without hesitation for Teacher of the Month.
His students and the classroom environment in which they learn are top priorities for Quaranta. His students know his classroom is a safe, welcoming, and supportive space. Students gravitate toward him because he is empathetic, a great listener, and gives helpful advice. His compassion for his students in evident in the way that he interacts with each of them. “He doesn’t mind taking time out to get to the root of an issue or dig deeper with a student to get them to open u. They often do, because of his kind and caring nature,” said Olivia Krupa – Quaranta’s nominator. It’s evident that Mr. Quaranta makes a positive impression on his pupils because during our surprise teacher visit, they did not hesitate to say a few kind words about him.
Stephen is the head of the ELA department at Bodine. He’s also very involved with student activities as he leads the Media Club, which allows students to learn skills involving media planning, filming, production, and editing. In addition, he takes time out of his schedule to chaperone students in the Outward Bound Program on field trips, plans events for the Seniors at Bodine, and mentors students as well as teachers.
Many of the students at Bodine view Mr. Quaranta as a father figure because He cares for them as if they are his own. Most of his students continue to visit him even after class is over. Teachers like Mr. Quaranta are the ones who can change the trajectory of a child’s life. John C. Maxwell said, “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Thank you Mr. Quaranta for being an educator who cares.