Sydney Chaffee came to Citizen Schools as an AmeriCorps Teaching Fellow, looking for a way to start her teaching career. She spent two years teaching at schools in Boston with citizen Schools before working at Codman Academy in Dorchester. Sydney was recently awarded the National Teacher of the Year award for her work at Codman Academy. We asked Sydney how her time at Citizen Schools has influenced her work as a teacher.
Read MoreAt Codman Academy Charter School in Dorchester, Sydney Chaffee likes to put the spotlight on her students during a weekly schoolwide assembly — having them write the scripts, act out the skits, and fully take charge of an event that is integral to the Codman’s identity.
But on Thursday morning, in the midst of school vacation week, it was Chaffee who stepped into the spotlight, with the announcement that she had been named National Teacher of the Year, making her the first Massachusetts educator to receive the top award in teaching.
Read MoreSYDNEY CHAFFEE, a 9th grade humanities teacher at a Dorchester charter school, is not just a good teacher, she is, by at least one measure, the best one in the country.
Chaffee was named National Teacher of the Year on Thursday, the first time a Massachusetts educator has won the award in the 65 years that it has been given. The award is made by the Council of Chief State School Officers.
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