Congratulations to Dolores Rufrano, Birchwood Intermediate School’s and South Huntington School District’s Teacher of the Year! This is Mrs. Rufrano’s twentieth year with the South Huntington School District. All twenty years have been at Birchwood as a Dual Language Teacher for fourth and fifth grades. South Huntington’s Dual Language Program is an immersion language program and provides core academic instruction in two languages in the classroom - English and Spanish - and begins in Kindergarten. Classes are made up of students who are proficient in English and those who are proficient in Spanish. So as Birchwood Principal Dimitri Bernadel pointed out, Mrs. Rufrano helps our students unlock their ability to think not only in English but in Spanish. Her students understand that speaking and learning in a second language will support them far beyond the walls of Birchwood.
Mrs. Rufrano graduated Queens College with a Bachelor's Degree in Early Elementary Education and Psychology. She has a Master's Degree with a Bilingual Extension from Hunter College. She knew she wanted to become an educator at a young age. Her inspiration came from her third grade teacher who made a positive impact on her life, and she decided that she wanted to pay that forward to students of her own one day. And she has. Colleagues know Mrs. Rufrano as an educator who walks into the building every day with a smile and creates an environment in her classroom that encourages students to feel comfortable to be themselves and reach for the stars. Her teaching style is described as warm and nurturing but also highly structured with diligently planned lessons that differentiate instruction so she can reach each child.
But for Mrs. Rufrano, teaching is more than just academics. Principal Bernadel says she works just as hard to help her students grow socially and emotionally, teaching them to think about every decision they make and learn from the positive or negative outcomes that may arise from their decision. And she’s able to do it each and every day in two languages. You’ll find her outside the classroom at the annual teacher pep rally, dressing up for spirit days, and even participating right along with her students at an assembly showing her students that it’s perfectly okay to be uniquely yourself. “Her heart and soul is dedicated to the students and families of this amazing community,” said Bernadel.
Seeing her students smile is the best part of the school day for Mrs. Rufrano whether it’s because of something they’re learning together, reading together, or when they realize they finally understand something they originally thought was difficult. It just makes her happy! They’ve taught her “how to simply be a better human being through the way they support one another in their learning.”
Mrs. Rufrano says being named Birchwood’s and South Huntington’s Teacher of the Year is an amazing experience. “The teachers of South Huntington are all so dedicated and to be honored among them is an immense honor.”