With her aptitude for teaching and passion for service, Mrs. Carolyn Faggioni embodies qualities every educator should possess. A force of positivity, she leaves an indelible impact on students, fellow teachers, and the Floral Park community. She is Floral Park Memorial’s 2014-2015 Teacher Of The Year.

Tuesday mornings commence with the weekly Student Council meeting. Today, Mrs. Faggioni, advisor of the club, prepares us for what will be our yearly push to contribute to the Island Harvest Food Drive. Determined to make Floral Park the top contributing school on Long Island, Mrs. Faggioni invites us to think of ways to maximize Floral Park’s contribution to the hungry on Long Island.

Mrs. Faggioni’s effort for the Island Harvest food drive constitutes one of the many charitable acts she commits to yearly. Other Student Council events that Mrs. Faggioni has helped bring funds to include the Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy, the Wounded Warrior Project, Relay for Life, the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the Robin Hood Foundation, Friends of Kids with Cancer, and BuildOn. Mrs. Faggioni’s acts of charity year in and out emphasize her altruistic qualities and dedication to organizations she sees as generating meaningful and lasting change.

Additionally, Mrs. Faggioni’s acts of service extend more closely to home, directly affecting the Floral Park community. While her involvement in events such as the annual Spirit Day Pep Rally, Homecoming Day Parade, Seventh Grade Dance, Battle of the Bands, and 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is not always well known to the participants, the school benefits greatly from her leadership.

For those in Student Council, Mrs. Faggioni emphasizes the importance of volunteerism, and instills in them a sense of service and responsibility. In my own experience, working for the betterment of Floral Park Memorial and serving charities with a global outreach has helped me value the virtues of hard work. Mrs. Faggioni makes the hard work central to Student Council enjoyable and gratifying. As President of the club, I have learned the importance of leadership and communication directly from Mrs. Faggioni. Not only have I benefitted immensely, but I have seen many others benefit from Mrs. Faggioni and Student Council as well.

“Mrs. Faggioni is a remarkable educator and Student Council advisor who has impacted every student that has had the pleasure of knowing her,” said Student Council Vice President Thomas Kenna. “I am witness to this.”

While my interaction with Mrs. Faggioni so far has been limited to Student Council, her greatest impact may lie in the work she does in the classroom, which has won her the admiration of teachers and students alike. Mrs. Faggioni began teaching the Advanced Placement course in American Government and Politics in 1999.  She also teaches 10th grade Regents Global History classes.  In her AP course, she helps her students understand and critically analyze American politics, the key founding principles and their implications for the nation. Incredibly well informed, Mrs. Faggioni frequently uses current events as a springboard upon which to start daily dialogues in class.

“Mrs. Faggioni encourages her students to know what is going on in the world,” said senior Teresa Cappiello. “She will frequently start class discussions about a current event and encourage students to explain their opinion on that event.”

“Mrs. Faggioni is a great teacher,” said class of 2015 valedictorian Nicholas Konzelman. “She is funny and engages her students in every lesson.”

“Faggioni teaches in a way that is easy to understand and retain,” senior Neesan Haider said. “She keeps our class aware of current political affairs while also preparing us for the AP exam.”

Most importantly, Mrs. Faggioni encourages her students to become better, more aware citizens through greater involvement in the American political process. Mrs. Faggioni is not only a role model for her students, but she is an example for many of her colleagues as well.

“Mrs. Faggioni is one of the most dedicated teachers I know, and she has been a great role model for me,” said Ms. Canone, who like Mrs. Faggioni, also started a new Advanced Placement course (Human Geography) at Floral Park Memorial.  “She is warm, compassionate, intelligent, and most importantly, she goes above and beyond for her students. I have the utmost respect for her and always turn to her for advice.  Mrs. Faggioni is a true professional and an inspiration to both students and staff.”

Mrs. Faggioni’s love for the political process and leadership was apparent long before her Teacher of the Year recognition. As a college student, she helped a 1984 campaign of one of her professors running for Congress, canvassing neighborhoods. She taught at Sacred Heart Academy for nine years, where she coached speech and debate. At FPM, she was the class advisor for the classes of 2000 and 2006. Following 2006, she took over the advisor position for Student Council. Mrs. Faggioni’s professionalism and dedication to her job has helped her receive numerous accolades, the most prestigious of which was her Dowling College/News 12 Educator of the Month Award.

Mrs. Faggioni relays the information to me. While our contribution to the Island Harvest food drive was the school’s personal best this year, we came in second on the list of top contributing schools in Long Island. I am content with how much food we were able to donate. But next year we plan on coming in first place. She is a model teacher who always inspires her students to strive for ways to improve, work harder and reach new heights.