Teachers are the backbone of democracy, instilling in students the skills and knowledge they need to succeed and to be informed citizens, the curiosity they need to be lifelong learners and the creativity to find their ways in an ever-changing world.
For students who struggle along that journey, there are teachers like Brian Stevenson, a reading interventionist at Vernon Center Middle School. Stevenson’s eighth grade Boost Reading classroom is where kids who need a hand in reading and writing can find it. His colleagues say Stevenson is devoted to and demanding of his students and consistently achieves miraculous results.
Stevenson is Vernon’s Teacher of the Year, based largely on the recommendation of his colleagues, who are first-hard witnesses to his hard work and what his students achieve.
Brian Stevenson, Vernon's Teacher of the Year.
“All students find an overwhelming sense of place in Mr. Stevenson’s classroom,” colleague Michael Furey wrote. His students “consistently demonstrate a skill increase of two or more grade levels. Not only does he help students improve their reading levels, he also builds a community of readers that encourages reluctant readers to like, if not love, reading.”
Reading is the key to pretty much everything, Stevenson said. To take full advantage of the offerings at Rockville High School, and to be able to access information in general, strong reading skills are essential.
Stevenson said there is no typical student in his classroom.
“There is a wide variety of needs,” he said. “Some kids really want to do well but struggle. Others struggle with motivation or in seeing the value of reading. That’s a whole different challenge. But it’s a challenge I enjoy – motivating kids to see the value in their education.”
A lot of what Stevenson does is build relationships with students and establish that he cares about them and how they do.
“They need some tough love sometimes and to be pushed,” he said. And they know he will not accept easy answers such as “I don’t know” or a shoulder shrug. Instead, students know Stevenson is going to demand their best.
“They need to think and they need to be pushed to think,” he said. “If you work hard enough they start to see that you are on their side and on their team, that you’re there helping them and trying to help them succeed.”
Confidence building is also essential – pushing students to read challenging books. “When they finish a real 250 to 300 page novel, they’re like, ‘Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.’ Sometimes when that happens it starts to build their confidence. When you struggle, your confidence is hurt. When kids don’t think they can do the work, they defeat themselves before they even give it a shot.”
Stevenson said he works with students to find books that interest them and that they’ll enjoy. They may struggle, but they keep going. They find a character with which they can identify, or a topic they like.
Success is getting kids to grade level, or close, and seeing them succeed in their other classes, Stevenson said. Success in science or social studies can help students understand the value of what they are doing in Stevenson’s class.
The Vernon Public Schools track students to gauge their success in school. If a student struggles, interventionists in math and language arts are available to help. If additional assistance is necessary, more help is available.
“Our curriculum is aligned to standards, cognitively engaging for students and rigorous,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph P. Macary said. “If we find a student is not meeting grade level expectations, we get them the help they need to succeed. Interventionists are essential to helping our students move forward.”
“Brian is passionate about doing what is best for his kids and making sure he improves their performance in reading,” Vernon Center Middle School Principal David Caruso said. “He works really hard analyzing data, talking to teachers, and getting anecdotal information about what’s going on in the classroom so he can support the students in his classroom. We believe every student should be performing at grade level.”