Harford County Education Association President Randy Cerveny made the following public comments at the November 14, 2011 meeting of the Harford County Board of Education. A copy was provided to The Dagger for publication.
Good evening President Wheeler, members of the Board and Dr. Tomback, I am Randy Cerveny, president of HCEA, speaking on behalf of our teachers.
Generally, when I appear before the Board of Education I bring forth concerns that demand your attention. Tonight is no different. Educators are very humble. It does not matter whether they are a new or a veteran teacher with decades of experience, they won’t always talk publicly about their accomplishments educating our youth. The public needs to know what they do.
It takes the work of many dedicated, diverse, and talented individuals in our school system to help each of our students’ progress successfully from the first day of kindergarten through high school graduation. As President of HCEA I often have the wonderful opportunity to talk with many of Harford County’s outstanding educators. Much of the time, their outstanding work goes unheralded. This being the first day of American Education Week, I would like to begin to recognize teachers that continue to make a difference with their students. One such teacher is Amy Woolf.
Amy has been a teacher in the Harford County School system for nearly two decades. She is currently working in the International Baccalaureate program recently started at Edgewood High School. During her tenure in this assignment, she has touched the lives of over 200 students. This spring will be the first year of graduating seniors from this program. The students of her program will go on to become the newest generation of teachers, engineers, doctors, nurses, and models of society. Amy continues to encourage and support the academic growth of the Edgewood High School students with long work hours, continual passion, and drive, too often attributes that are taken for granted. Tonight I want to recognize Amy Woolf as a gem of the Harford County Public School System. Amy, please stand and be recognized. Thank you for all that you do.
My son participates in the IB program and I firmly believe that the success of the students in this program is due to Ms. Woolf’s tireless commitment. She sets expectations for the students and is there to support he achievement of those expectations. I feel exceptionally fortunate to have someone with her passion and experience leading my child.