Faculty: Recognizing Our High Impact Teachers

May 18, 2017

“I want my students to know they are cared for; once they’re in my class, they’re always in my class. They’re always my student and I hope to always be their teacher.” says Jon Mundorf, P.K. Yonge’s 7th grade language arts instructor.

Mundorf joins Bill Steffens (6th grade math), Greg Cunningham (6th grade language arts), George Pringle (7th grade math), Cody Miller (9th grade language arts), and *Kate Colantonio Yurko (formerly 10th grade language arts, now at SUNY at Brockport College) who were all named State of Florida High Impact Teachers.

“High Impact Teachers” are named based on a ranking of Florida’s middle and high school English and mathematics instructors over three prior academic years. According to the Florida Department of Education, less than 10 percent of eligible public school teachers are considered “high impact” which is determined by a series of measures and calculations (VAM) that serve as a key factors in evaluating teacher performance.

Though teachers of different subjects and grade levels, P.K. Yonge’s High Impact Teachers are all of a similar mind – ALL students are important and success lies in being fully engaged in the learning process.

“All teachers have a significant impact on students,” says Director Lynda Hayes, “and we are pleased that 6 of our teachers have been recognized in this way.” Miller, Pringle, Steffens, and Yurko were recognized as High Impact Teachers at P.K. Yonge last year and Cunningham and Mundorf join the ranks in 2017.

 

 

Name: Greg Cunningham
Teaching Assignment: 6th Grade Language Arts
Years Teaching: 19
Years at P.K. Yonge: 17
Why I Keep Teaching: “Teaching allows me to make a genuinely positive difference…and the kids keep me entertained.”

 

 

Name: Bill Steffens
Teaching Assignment: 6th Grade Math
Years Teaching: 38
Years at P.K. Yonge: 25
Why I Keep Teaching: “I enjoy the interactions I have with students and being able to watch them develop as people and as learners.”

 

 

Name: Jon Mundorf
Teaching Assignment: 7th Grade Language Arts
Years Teaching: 14
Years at P.K. Yonge: 2
Why I Keep Teaching: “I can’t possibly repay the teachers who supported me, but I can pay it forward and make school an awesome place for kids today.”

 

 

Name: George Pringle
Teaching Assignment: 7th Grade Mathematics
Years Teaching: 17
Years at P.K. Yonge: 9
Why I Keep Teaching: “I teach because I see teaching as a noble profession that allows me to impact and help shape the lives of the future generation.”

 

 

Name: Cody Miller
Assignment: 9th Grade Language Arts
Years Teaching: 5
Years at P.K. Yonge: 4
Why I Keep Teaching: “What keeps me in the profession is the rich discussion I have with students, and the way we intellectually challenge each other.”

 

 

*Kate Colantonio Yurko is no longer at P.K. Yonge was not available for comment.

 

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