Doctoral Student Lynn Gatto Named NY Teacher of the Year

Lynn Gatto with her fourth graders

Rochester fourth-grade teacher Lynn Astarita Gatto, a 29-year teaching veteran, chose that profession long before she knew the theories behind what she was doing. Her selection this week as New York State’s Teacher of the Year recognizes those natural talents as an educator who digs deep to help all children learn.

At Rochester City School District’s Henry Hudson Elementary School #28, Gatto’s desk adjoins those of 22 students to form a large rectangle, and the room typically overflows with noise and excitement. “I create a core of learners [where] we are all equal and we are all learning together” Gatto explains. And the talk in her class is anything but idle chatter. In fact her doctoral dissertation will examine “eruptions of conversation” that happen spontaneously in the classroom, how they occur, make meaning, and influence learning.

The Teacher of the Year award recognizes and celebrates outstanding educators from kindergarten through 12th grade. Announced June 16 in Albany, more than a dozen educational organizations were involved in the selection process. State winners will compete for a national award.

So far, she’s thoroughly enjoyed being New York’s “Miss America of Teachers” and, typical of her, she took 11 children and eight parents to the announcement ceremony because she didn’t want her students and their parents to miss out on the opportunity. “This award validates for me and my colleagues who teach like me that we’re on the right track,” she says.

Read other Warner news stories about Lynn Gatto.