Ms. A Gets an A+ From Students, Judges

Chosen as one of the five teachers to receive the 2007 Lori Petrick Award, Tonya Angeletopoulos is also a winner with her fifth grade students, who call her ‘Ms. A.’ During Teacher Appreciation Week, Angeletopoulos’ students surprised her with a book that included drawings of her as well as comments. A typical sentiment was expressed by Zoe Arrastia-Prince, who wrote: ‘She makes learning fun. She helps us individually. She is not only a teacher, but also a friend. She makes her students excited to go to school.’ Ms. A. has been teaching for seven years, all at Palisades Charter Elementary. She began with a kindergarten/first grade class, and although she admits it was challenging, she already had the makings of a veteran teacher because even then she knew, ‘You can try to teach the whole class but you have to remember to teach each individual.’ Angeletopoulos taught fourth grade the next five years, then moved to fifth grade last year. ‘I feel that the students put together everything they know when they get in fifth,’ she said. ‘They’re going through so many changes, it’s a great age for discussion. They have such an interest they create their own learning.’ Although many people would agree that optimal learning is student created, it’s actually a good teacher who is able to facilitate and guide that process. Ms. A. gave her students a Native American project in which each student taught the class a skill or craft associated with the tribe researched. She assigned each student an area of the country and the students chose the tribe they wanted to research: the tribe’s clothing, food, shelters and culture. ‘The kids were motivated because everything came from them,’ Angeletopoulos said. Currently, the students are working in groups to produce colonial newspapers using a few guidelines from Ms. A., but choosing their own stories. So far the results are interesting and fun, including trivia like ‘What did the colonists wear when they boarded the ship for the Boston Tea Party?’ Ms. A. feels that children will learn and remember important data if they have a stake in it. ‘They need to feel it and know it to learn it,’ she said. She still remembers one of her elementary teachers who made each child feel unique for who they were. That teacher did a lot of hands-on projects: she wasn’t a textbook teacher. Ms. A. takes a similar approach. ‘I try to avoid standing and lecturing,’ she said. For a geometry unit, students designed and are currently constructing three-dimensional paper robots using cubes, cylinders, pyramids and other geometrical shapes. The students first designed a robot on graph paper, transferred their design to construction paper, cut the pieces out and assembled them. One of the teacher guidelines was that the robot had to be more than eight pieces. The result is a classroom of colorful different-shaped and different-sized robots, each as individual as the student who made it. Angeletopoulos grew up in Los Angeles and has two sisters, one an accountant, the other a teacher. Her mother is a teacher and her father, who has retired, worked as a manager for Albertsons. After graduating from University High School, she attended Cal State Northridge, where she received her teaching credential. ‘I think I knew when I was young, I wanted to be a teacher,’ she said. ‘When I am with kids and teaching, I’m at my best.’ Another aspect of teaching that Ms. A likes is that it encompasses so many areas, from the creative to working with people to constantly educating herself as well as her students. ‘Teaching is motivating and stimulating for an adult,’ she noted. For the past 11 summers, Angeletopoulos has run the Rustic Canyon summer camp with Jake Medway. They have a staff of 30 and work with 200 kids every three weeks. When she has spare time she hikes in Temescal, jogs (she recently ran a half marathon in Huntington Beach) and takes an occasional yoga class. Even though she spends a lot of time with family and friends, ‘most of my time is dedicated to teaching,’ she said.