2013 Educator of the Year: Keri Stromski
Although the Riverhead School District did not choose Keri Stromski to address state education commissioner John King at his public forum in November, the Aquebogue Elementary School teacher attended the meeting anyway — holding up three handmade signs.
One was of a picture of her 11-year-old daughter Madison. The poster read: “See this child? She is refusing your test.” Another sign had a picture of Ms. Stromski’s 8-year-old daughter Morgan, with “Stop the test abuse” written across the bottom. A poster of her son, Quinn, 5, stated, “My child is more than a test.”
Before the room full of angry teachers let loose on the commissioner, Ms. Stromski said in an interview that she attended the forum as a parent. She’s concerned about the state’s new direction with high-stakes testing and its potential effects on children, especially English as a Second Language students and students with disabilities.
In the meantime, she’s remaining focused on how best to teach her students the reading, writing and math skills they’ll need to further their education. Last year, she lobbied for her district to invest in a reading program called Reading A-Z Kids, or RAZ Kids. The software has since become wildly popular among Riverhead’s elementary school students.
For instilling a love of reading in hundreds of students and advocating for equitable and quality education, Ms. Stromski is the Riverhead News-Review’s Educator of the Year.
Parents have praised Ms. Stromski’s efforts because she’s found a way to get children to read on their own.
“I had students continue to read at their just-right level all summer long,” Ms. Stromski said during a recent interview. “This prevents the dreaded summer slide.”
When RAZ Kids came into the district during 2012-13 school year, students started logging into the online system to read digital books at their own reading level. The system can also read stories aloud and administer quizzes. All the while, Ms. Stromski can monitor their progress remotely. She then supports their homework using RAZ-designed lesson plans in the classroom.
Ms. Stromski said she approached the school district’s administration about purchasing the program last year because she believes it gives students the confidence to read independently. Teachers can send their students encouraging messages and monitor their progress, such as finding out how many times they read a story, or had it read to them. She can track quiz scores, too.
What makes it enjoyable for the kids? For each task a student completes, they can also earn points and redeem them for virtual prizes like collectible cartoon aliens and planets. Ms. Stromski said she believes the points-reward system plays a big part in encouraging students to complete their work.
And the more they practice, she said, the better readers they become.
But they’re not completely on their own, and Ms. Stromski clearly strives to set up that at-home feeling in her classroom, so the distinction between where home ends and school begins isn’t so stark.
The goal for first-graders is to be able to read chapter books by the end of the school year.
Aquebogue Elementary School principal Phil Kent said he believes the new program also helps prepare students for the state’s rigorous new curriculum under the Common Core State Standards, because RAZ Kids encourages them to read more independently outside school.
“Kids are able to get through more books and teachers are able to track their progress,” he said. “RAZ Kids has shown students the spirit that they can do it.”
Parent Stephanie Woychuk said her 7-year-old daughter, Sydney, loves reading since learning how to use the RAZ Kids program in Ms. Stromski’s class last year.
Ms. Woychuk said she likes the program because it’s capable of reading the story to students, and described it as “fantastic” because her daughter is reading more than what’s required for school.
“In a world where children love to play with iPads, they’re getting an education with the program and not just playing video games,” Ms. Woychuk said. “She’ll be in the car, reading a book with RAZ Kids without me asking. It’s great.”
Ms. Woychuk said she’s grateful for Ms. Stromski and believes Sydney’s experience in her class will help her continue to succeed academically.
“She’s wonderful,” Ms. Woychuk said of Ms. Stromski. “I can’t thank her enough. She challenges the kids in a way that they want to make her happy.
“Even now, [Sydney] can’t wait to check in and hug Ms. Stromski.”
