English teacher Nancy Feldman moves into the ESE department

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TIME TO WORK: ESE Specialist, Nancy Feldman checks on her students’ class assignments for the PSAT test in Oct. after 24 years of teaching English. Feldman looks forward to the challenges and returns of the ESE program. Photo by Aleksi Holder

By: Aleksi Holder

Former English 3 teacher, Nancy Feld- man, had the opportunity to pursue a differ- ent role in education as an Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Support Facilitator. After 24 years of teaching in the Language Arts department, she has decided to take on the job to support her students in the ESE department.

Feldman has been an English teacher at at the school since the its inception in 2008, but she was finally able to make the long-await- ed transition this year. She will be collabo- rating with other ESE resource teachers to ensure their students get the assistance and guidance needed to best succeed in high school and after graduation.

“The reason I transitioned was I really wanted to know that I was making an impact, and sometimes in a classroom when you have so many kids in the room, it is re- ally hard to connect on that one-on-one level, so I felt like I could not really gauge how much of a difference I really was making,” said Nancy Feldman.

Nationally-board-certified, Feldman received her bachelor’s degree from Long Island University and a Master of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Hofstra University, She would begin her educational career in New York before coming to Florida where she taught both gifted and ESE students. Despite her passion for literature, Feldman felt that the effects of teaching a full class were not as great as the one-on-one interactions she would get from her job as a support facilitator. Feldman received her ESE certification six years ago, but with no job demand she chose to stay as an English teacher until a position opened up with the recommendation of ESE Support Facilitator Rodney Sell.

“I remembered that Mrs. Feldman had told my wife that she would love to do this job, so I mentioned it to the school that I think I know somebody who would want this position,” said Sell. “I think she is going to be a great facilitator. She has years of experience, and she already had worked with the gifted students, so she had some familiarity with writing IEPs. She is just a great person.”

The transition to from being a teacher to a support facilitator exposed Feldman to a different role within education where she could personalize her interactions with her students to figure out the best way to help them excel both inside and outside of school. Gaining these kind of personalized relationships gives Feldman the satisfaction of making a difference in her students’ lives. While she misses the life lessons learnt from good literature, she loves to help her students and know that she has had a positive effect on them.

“I love it. It is a lot to learn very quickly, so it has been a little stressful in that respect, but everyone has been so helpful. Everyone in the ESE department, they are all so nice and so patient, and I love working with the kids. That is my favorite part.” Feldman said.