MANAYUNK, PA—Academy for the Middle Years (AMY) Northwest School Principal Marco Zanoni was named Northwest Region First In Math® Principal of the Year for 2007/2008, and presented with the "Cred Dobson Achievement Award" by First In Math® creator Robert Sun. A special award ceremony was held on December 18 at the Manayunk Brewery & Restaurant, located in that historic northwest Philadelphia neighborhood.
Left to right: FIM Ambassador and award namesake Cred Dobson; Northwest Region Superintendent Pamela Brown; AMY Northwest Principal Marco Zanoni and Robert Sun.
Zanoni, known throughout the region as a "hands-on" Principal, is enthusiastic when talking about his school's success, but more reserved when asked to comment on his contribution to that success. “I have no unique secret,” shrugs Zanoni. “We just believe in the First In Math program, and I have a wonderful team.” Zanoni and his staff employ many successful strategies to keep participation in the program high. Students can join the school’s First In Math Club, teachers maintain a weekly “leader board” showing top teams/students and Zanoni announces FIM rankings over the PA system. In December, a letter went home to parents, encouraging children to play FIM during the holiday break so that they would continue to sharpen math skills. "After break, we are providing incentives for top teams and individual players, including gift certificates from leading retailers, and the top three students on each team will be invited to a pizza party in January,” according to Zanoni, who funds the incentives by selling pretzels throughout the year. (see Tasty Award)
Zanoni proudly points to AMY's continued test-score increases, and attributes a large part of his school's math success to participation in the FIM program. The percentage of AMY students who scored 75% or better on Philadelphia benchmarks increased 7.3% from October 2007 to October 2008, and the percentage of students scoring at the Proficient & Advanced level on the PSSA* tests also increased 11 percentage points, from 73% to 84%, during the same period. "We obviously share Marco's belief that the First In Math program helps students succeed in mathematics," says Robert Sun, "but no program in any school—no matter how good—can help students really excel without an involved Principal and dedicated teaching staff. We are honored to present this award each year to principals like Marco who exemplify the Northwest Region's motto, 'Excellence Is Our Only Option'."
Two previous recipients of the award, Fitler Academics Principal Willette Jones and former Hill-Freedman Principal Diane Hathaway, now Assistant Superintendent, were in attendance, as was Northwest Region Superintendent Pamela Brown. Leeds Middle School Principal Stephanie Mitchell also received an Honorable Mention award for inspiring students to excel in mathematics. Mitchell was moved to tears as she accepted the award from Sun, Dobson and Superintendent Brown.
A surprised Stephanie Mitchell receives a big hug of congratulations from Cred Dobson, as Northwest Region Superintendent Pamela Brown looks on.
*PSSA stands for Pennsylvania State System of Assessment.