The St. Louis Public School District has awarded the 2012 Secondary Mathematics Teacher of the Year Award to Ms. Ashley Rench, a Mathematics teacher from Cleveland Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) High School.
An educator with the district since 2007, Ms. Rench has taught all levels of high school Mathematics, from remedial mathematics to AP Calculus, and has served as the Mathematics Department Chair at Cleveland for the past three years.
“No assignment is too difficult for Ashley. For example, she has a split class where she teaches two subjects, Math Theories and Advanced Algebra, in one period,” said Ms. Victoria Shearing, Academic Instructional Coach. “Any other teacher would be intimidated by such an impossible task, but not Ms. Rench, who not only teaches both subjects concurrently with success, she also makes it look easy.”
To become the 2012 Secondary Mathematics Teacher of the Year, applicants were asked to explain their philosophy and approach to teaching; be recommended by a principal and a professional colleague; and pass a classroom evaluation conducted by a team of professionals.
“Ms. Rench is one of the pillars of our Cleveland community. She serves as a mentor for our new and prospective teachers, coaches girls’ athletics, sponsors the senior class, and works as the AP Calculus group leader for the District. She is exactly the sort of teacher that every principal dreams of having,” said Dr. Susan Viviano, principal at Cleveland NJROTC High School, who recommended Rench for the award.
As the 2012 Secondary Mathematics Teacher of the Year, Ms. Ashley Rench was honored with an awards reception and presented with a $1,000 award from the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation. In addition, she was presented with a trophy, a plaque, and a $500 award for classroom supplies and/or professional development through the Parsons Blewett Memorial Fund.
Harrison Center to host FAFSA Frenzy
Need assistance filling out college financial aid forms? Free help is on the way. And you could win a scholarship just by attending the FAFSA Frenzy event at St. Louis Community College’s William J. Harrison Education Center 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16.
FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is the first step in applying for federal financial aid and many state programs. Families will be able to complete the 2012-13 FAFSA on site and obtain valuable information.
The center, located at 3140 Cass Ave. in St. Louis, will have financial aid professionals on hand to assist students and parents with the FAFSA process.
Next school year, the U.S. Department of Education will make more than $150 billion in postsecondary financial aid available to students throughout the nation. As part of a College Goal Sunday (CGS) program, FAFSA Frenzy makes applying for financial aid easier by providing students with free help.
Participants are asked to bring:
- 2012 W-2 forms.
- Copies of their 2012 tax forms, if they are ready. If students or their parents have not yet filed 2012 returns before they attend a FAFSA Frenzy event, they should be sure to bring any statements of interest earned in 2012, any 1099 forms, and any other forms required to complete taxes. This will allow students and their parents to submit FAFSA online during the event. The student will then need to go back to the FAFSA and submit corrections once tax returns are filed. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool should be available to help submit corrections accurately within a few weeks after the tax file date.
- Student PIN and parent PIN. Students and parents may apply for PINs at www.pin.ed.gov before attending a FAFSA Frenzy event.
Students who attend a FAFSA Frenzy event will be entered into a statewide drawing to win a scholarship. Winners will receive their scholarships upon receipt of enrollment verification for the 2012 fall semester at a Missouri postsecondary institution. Scholarship funds are being provided by the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority and by the Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel.
All students will receive gift bags with helpful information for planning and paying for college. This is the 10th year Missouri is participating in the CGS program. During the past nine years, CGS/FAFSA Frenzy has helped more than 7,300 Missouri students obtain financial aid.
For dates, times and locations for FAFSA Frenzy events, go to www.dhe.mo.gov or www.masfap.org/showmetocollege.
For more information about the event at the Harrison Education Center, contact Alandrea Stewart at 314-763-6000.