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The
following profiles were written by
Westonian
reporters
and, in a few instances, the subjects
themselves.
Ms. Love, (Science)
was born in
Paterson, NJ. She attended Rutgers University where
she majored in biology. Ms. Love joined our staff
directly after graduating from Rutgers. Ms. Love
was inspired to teach science because she wants to
help students understand their individual impact on
the environment. She believes that West Side has
great students with young, fresh minds.
Top
Mrs. Bowman (Dance)
was
born in New York and was raised in NJ. She attended
Emerson College and Brooklyn College. She decided to
become an educator because she wanted to pass on
great things she has learned about dance. Her
hobbies include dancing, flags, calligraphy, bead
collecting and costume jewelry design. What she
likes most about West Side is the enthusiastic
students and least is the negative attitudes of some
students.
Top
Ms. Kelly (Business)
was born
and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She attended Rider
University. Before she came to West Side, she taught
at West Side’s Ninth Grade Success Academy and Union
Avenue Middle School. She decided to become an
educator to spread literacy which is the cornerstone
of achievement. Her interests outside of school
include reading, music and acting. What she likes
about West Side is watching the students succeed
regardless of distractions around them, and what she
likes least about West Side are students who aren’t
motivated to learn.
Top
Before
teaching at West Side,
Ms. Castillo (Science)
taught Math in Arizona and Washington State. She is
very excited about teaching at West Side and is
looking forward to a great school year. Ms.
Castillo expected to meet a lot of interesting and
talented students at West Side and was not
disappointed in her expectations. She was born in
Princeton, New Jersey and was raised in Forks, WA.
She attended Evergreen State College. Ms. Castillo
decided to become a teacher because she loves
education and she loves science. Sharing her
knowledge with her students is very special to her.
She enjoys spending her free time reading, doing
puzzles and hanging out with her family. When she
was a student, she enjoyed participating on the
track team and cross country team. When asked what
she likes the least about West Side, she stated,
“the commute from Philadelphia to Newark every
day.”
Top
Mr. Mark Leibowitz
(Social Studies)
was born in Paterson and raised in
Newark, New Jersey. He attended Simpson College in
Iowa. Before he came to West Side he was a teacher
at West Side’s Ninth Grade Academy. His outside
interests include collecting coins and Mickey Mouse
memorabilia. What he likes most about West Side are
students and teachers and what he likes least are
foolish rules.
Top
Mr. Devitt (Social
Studies)
was born in Newark, NJ and was raised
in Union and Westfield. He has been teaching in the
Newark Public School system for ten years. He taught
at West Side’s Success Academy for six years. Mr.
Devitt credits his teachers for inspiring him to
attend college, because college was not something
that he had planned on doing. He originally wanted
to become a farmer. He enjoys raising his two
children, film, and taking pictures of bald eagles
in flight. Mr. Devitt explains that as a teacher,
he does not have a lot of spare time, but he has
participated in several extracurricular activities
as well as working part-time. Mr. Devitt is
enjoying his experience teaching at West Side
tremendously. When asked the question-what do you
least like about West Side, he responded, “trying to
open my classroom window.”
Top
Ms. Caldwell (Special
Needs/Lang. Arts)
taught at Cleveland Elementary School
in Newark before coming to West Side. She is a
native of Newark and attended Seton Hall University
in South Orange, New Jersey. Ms. Caldwell enjoys
making a difference in the lives of her students. In
her free time she likes reading the Bible, watching
old movies and spending time with her family.
Top
Ms. Rakovsky
(Math)
was born and raised in the Republic
of Georgia. She was a math teacher at University
High School before she came to West Side. She
attended Tbilisi State University while in the
Republic of Georgia.
Although she enjoys teaching she has other ambitions
such as biophysics, which she has studied in
college. She also loves music and art.
Unfortunately, she does not have any free time. What
she likes most about West Side High School is that
she has some good students, but at the same time she
has quite a number of “trouble making” students.
Top
Before West
Side,
Mr. Wesley (Math)
worked as a Demand Planner/ Forecast Analyst for
Murray Feiss, a company located in the Bronx, NY.
He was only there for a short time before he decided
to pursue a career in education.
Mr. Wesley attended
Rutgers University in New Brunswick at the School of
Engineering. He studied industrial engineering with
a minor in economics. He was born and raised in
Jersey City, NJ.
Mr. Wesley feels
that being an educator is one of his many purposes
in life. He wants to be a part of seeing more
students like himself do better than what the world
thinks that they can do. “I am honored to now be
able to call myself an educator,” stated Mr. Wesley.
“My interests includes,
watching and playing basketball, watching football,
hanging out with friends, reading, and just enjoying
life.
When asked what he liked
about West Side, Mr. Wesley stated that he feels
that he is a part of the solution. “The
administrators, teachers, and staff are very
welcoming,” he stated, and for this reason he has
felt very comfortable his first few weeks teaching.
He also likes the support that the administrators in
the building give to the teachers. Mr. Wesley does
not like the fact that the soda machine in the
teacher’s lounge on the first floor took money from
him twice and I yet he still continues to put money
in it.
Top
Ms. Swinton (Language
Arts)
was born and raised in New York. She
attended Susquehanna University. Before she came to
West Side High School, she taught ninth and twelfth
grade in Pennsylvania. She decided to become an
educator because she is an advocate for educational
reform. One day she hopes to be a school leader to
ensure that all children will have the opportunity
for an outstanding education. During her free time
Ms. Swinton enjoys watching comedy sitcoms and stand
up comedy. She likes West Side thus far. What she
likes the least at West Side is the block
scheduling, what she likes the most is the students,
of course!
Top
Ms. Crawford (Language
Arts)
was born and raised in Pittsburg, PA.
She attended Dickinson College. Before she came to
West Side, she taught at West Philadelphia High
School. She decided to become an educator because
both of her parents teach and she wanted to follow
in her parents’ footsteps before she went to law
school.
Her interests outside of school
include soccer, tennis, running and watching
Jeopardy.
She loves her students here at West Side, and if she
could take them home with her she would!
Top
Ms. Stallsmith
(Language Arts)
was born and raised in South Orange,
New Jersey. She attended Stockton College. Ms.
Stallsmith always knew she wanted to be an educator.
The best part of teaching she says is seeing her
students learn, and learning from them also.
West Side has met, and exceeded Ms.
Stallsmith’s expectations. She knew she would work
with intelligent kids, but she did not know they
would be so much fun. Ms. Stallsmith finds her work
challenging, and she looks forward to a wonderful
school year with her students.
Top
Before
coming to West Side
Ms. Shaw (Business)
worked for
the Essex County Division of Training and
Employment. She is a graduate of Hampton University
and was born in East Orange, New Jersey. Ms Shaw
decided to enter the field of education because she
would like to be a part of the process of helping
students develop the life skills that will help
them throughout their lifetimes.
Top
Mr. Edwards (Social
Studies)
started his career at the Success
Academy. Mr. Edwards had very few expectations in
regards to teaching He believes that the students
and the staff set the tone of the school at the
beginning of the school year. He does expect to work
very hard with his students and have a good time in
the process. Mr. Edwards was born in Guyana. He
lived there until he was nine years old, then
migrated to this country on Independence Day. Mr.
Edwards recalls being inspired by his seventh grade
teacher whom he described as being “a bit crazy and
eccentric.” “She was very passionate about teaching
and wanted her students to learn,” stated Mr.
Edwards. He enjoys hanging out with his friends and
spending time with family. When asked what he enjoys
most about West Side he stated, “the staff.” When
asked what he least likes, he described the lack of
respect from some of the students.
Top
Ms. Richardson
(Business)
was a manager of a home insurance
claims department with the Newark Insurance
Company. She is very excited about teaching in a
high school environment and has a lot to offer our
students at West Side H.S. Ms. Richardson was born
and raised in Newark. She attended Temple
University in Philadelphia, PA. and received a full
scholarship in track and field. Former West Side
Vice Principal, Mr. John Tonero, (and current Acting
Principal at Weequahic H.S) was her track and field
coach. Ms. Richardson decided to become an
educator after home schooling her own children for
several years.. She enjoys, singing, dancing,
motivational speaking and coaching for track and
field. She truly enjoys working with teenagers. When
asked what she likes least about West Side, she
stated, “the students who don’t want to be here for
the purpose of education.”
Top
Mr. Pinnock
(Language Arts)
was born and raised in St. Ann,
Jamaica. He attended New Jersey City University.
Before he came to West Side High School, he worked
for Newark Club Catering. He decided to become an
educator because of the lack of male teachers in
Newark. He wanted to become a role model for young
men so as to be a positive influence. His interests
include music, soccer and traveling to new places.
When asked what he likes most and least about West
Side, he replied, “I am yet to be settled here at
West Side, but I enjoy the vast array of educators
who are having a positive impact on me. What I like
least is that I don’t have my own classroom.”
Top
Mr. Battle
(Math)
attended Rutgers University in
Newark. He was a math tutor through a fellowship
program at Rutgers from 2002-2003. As a tutor he
assisted math teachers of assigned classes at
Malcolm X Shabazz High School as well as West Side
High School. During instructional time, he saw how
some students became disinterested in learning and
how some students found it difficult to make the
connection between mathematics and their everyday
lives. For this reason, he decided to become a math
teacher to help students who are frustrated with
math. It is his goal to help students make
important connections between math and their
everyday lives. Mr. Battle presently coaches track
and field at Weequahic High School in Newark, NJ.
Top
Mr. Williams (Phys.
Ed/Health)
was born and raised in Irvington, NJ.
He attended Virginia State University. Before he
came to West Side, he was a teacher at the West Side
Ninth Grade Academy. He decided to become an
educator because he enjoys having a positive impact
on youth. His outside interests include basketball,
bowling and walking. What he likes about West Side
are the students. There is nothing about West Side
that he dislikes.
Top
Ms. Santos (Special
Needs/Science)
was born and raised in Newark. She
has worked at West Side’s Ninth Grade Success
Academy. As a prior student at Rutgers University,
Ms. Santos originally entered college as a pre-med
student, but in her sophomore year she was offered a
tutoring position at the Student Center. She enjoyed
the experience so much that she decided to switch
from medicine to education.
Ms. Santos considers herself to be an eclectic when
it comes to her interests outside of school. She
enjoys photography, cooking, knitting, playing pool,
dancing, and listening to music. Ultimately, Ms.
Santos believes that having diverse interests is the
key to not leading a dull life. At first, she was
hesitant of the transition, but what she liked the
most about the opportunity was that it enabled her
to see students from previous years and see how
they’ve developed and matured.
Top
Ms. Smith (Math)
has worked
for Newark Public Schools for twelve years and joins
us after three years at the Success Academy. She
has always enjoyed math and after a career as an
accountant, decided to change fields and become a
math teacher. Although it can be challenging at
times, she enjoys seeing the students she has
worked with in the past. “Regardless of what kind
of student they were, the acknowledgment that they
give me, makes it all worth while.” |
