LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Mel Simmons-Rosen was nominated by George Carbone, a member of her community.

Mrs. Simmons-Rosen started out her professional career as a corporate attorney and spent many years in the legal profession. She has earned a B.A. in linguistics from the College of William and Mary; a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law; and most recently, an M.S. in Adolescent English Teaching from Elmira College.

Once she got married and had her first child, Mrs. Simmons-Rosen realized she had been called to the teaching profession. She wanted to be an integral part of a student’s young life and help students of all ages in a positive way in their growth towards adulthood. As she now had children of her own, she became passionate about nurturing all children. She could not stay away from it. Today, she works day and night to be the teacher she is called to be.

Mrs. Simmons-Rosen left the practice of law and joined the teaching vocation to help our youth succeed. In her current role as a ninth grade English teacher, she has lots of gifted students. She works to challenge them to grow their knowledge every day. This shows her students she loves to learn, as well as teach. She says she wants to instill the love of learning in her students.

Mrs. Simmons-Rosen approaches her day like many other great teachers, in an innovative and positive manner. She uses an entrepreneurial instructional practice that establishes a classroom environment that inspires student learning. This helps her students engage in a helpful, fun way by inventing new ways to reach and hold their attention. This is accomplished by utilizing areas of practice and social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies, which in turn, lead to effective classroom management, and communicating high expectations to her students.

Mrs. Simmons-Rosen has developed this practice to provide a safe, comfortable learning environment that leads to a higher level of student achievement. She is continuously evolving her best areas of practice and refining her lessons. She also involves the community in real-world experiences establishing parent engagement and communication.

Every day, she makes sure to connect with each student as they enter the classroom. She poses a daily question that she and her students discuss. These questions include silly “Would you rather?” questions, reflective questions, and questions that reaffirm positive character. Connecting with each student every day shows the students that she cares about them and their presence in her class. She also arranges her students to work in teams, and she uses creative, fun ways for teams to work together to enhance positive relationships between students. All of this leads to a positive, encouraging, and friendly classroom atmosphere.

As one may say, “the proof is in the pudding." Mrs. Simmons-Rosen knows the practices she employs enhance student learning and achievement in several ways. First and foremost, for the three years she has been teaching ninth grade, her students have achieved the highest scores in Collier County on the state assessment. In addition, her students will tell her that they “grow their brains” in her class. Her students will always want to stay in their original teams because of the strong connections they make. In fact, when she rearranges the teams each quarter, these same student feelings repeat!

Student engagement is always at a high level, as students are used to her routines – music, puns, character quotes, and celebration of success Fridays. When the weekly schedule changes, they will notice and provide feedback showing their familiarity engagement with her best practices. Anecdotally, Mrs. Simmons-Rosen has had previous students return to tell her that they learned so much more than they realized.

"When I first met Mel, I was immediately impressed with how she was able to create a unique and friendly classroom atmosphere," said Carbone. "Her classroom wasn't distracting, but had an engaging quality for the students. One significant way she engenders this positive, encouraging and friendly classroom atmosphere to her school and particularly to her classroom was to purchase 24 computers her students needed! She knew her students had entered the digital age, and this was one of the way she could reach them and help them grow."

"I was also impressed with how she invested significantly for her students' benefit and growth from her own funds," said Carbone. "We all know teachers who willingly purchases supplies and other items for their students’ needs on an annual basis. This is something that Mel has also done, but she has gone the extra mile financially for her students."

"All of this indicates Mel's commitment to the school and her student’s development in a positive way," said Carbone. "She has also been nominated for the Golden Apple Award this year. The Golden Apple Award is one important way that students, fellow teachers, and the administration recognize teachers of Mel's caliber who go the extra mile in an unselfish, loving way."