Allison Park Photo
Wilbur Cross High School Assistant Principal Dina Natalino gets her award.
Dina Natalino saw that some Wilbur Cross High School students couldn’t afford clothes for the prom. She also saw they needed more advice in thinking about college and careers.
The assistant principal got to work fixing those problems. On Thursday, she an other people who have worked extra to help city students were rewarded in turn at the Annual T.A.P.S. Award Ceremony.
The event took place at John Martinez School and drew around 70 faculty, staff, and family members.
The T.A.P.S. Awards recognize outstanding teachers, administrators, parents, support staff, and community members who embody the district’s core values of collaboration, growth, innovation, and equity. The individuals are chosen through a nomination process of all members of the New Haven Public School community.
“[These individuals] allow students to engage in learning” and “rise to success,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carol D. Birks said in an opening statement. She said they create the “community of support” and are “truly our heroes.” Birks commended the winners for their hard work and “irrational, passionate commitment to our students.”
“Some people are going way above and beyond… so we thank you for that,” she continued. “You only need a heart full of grace and love and service,” she said.
At Cross, Natalino created a College and Career Center and a free prom attire event.
In her first year as an assistant principal six years ago, Natalino contacted several organizations and drove leftover prom dresses and tuxes in a UHaul, just so her juniors and seniors could go to prom without a cost concern.
She created the College and Career Center two years ago. “It centralized things,” she said. Wilbur Cross High School is the largest comprehensive high school in the New Haven Public Schools system.
Superintendent Birks at the New Haven Public Schools T.A.P.S. Award Ceremony.
“We have a lot of first generation and undocumented students,” said Natalino. Through her new program, 11th and 12th grade students are now able to receive help with college planning including financial aid and scholarships, with the help of CT Students for a Dream. Through the program, counselors now have more time, allowing them to connect and build rapport with the underclassmen.
“You’re only as good as the people you work with,” said Natalino.
The other awardees in the Administrators category were John S. Martinez Magnet School Assistant Principal Jamie Coady and Principal of Davis Academy for Arts & Design Innovation Magnet School Principal Sequella Coleman.
Riverside Academy School Pasquale “Pat” DeLucia receiving his award.
Riverside Academy School;s Pasquale “Pat” DeLucia was one of the three honorees for the teachers awards category of the ceremony.
“[DeLucia] is an indispensable part [of our community],” raved Director of Instruction Dr. Iline Tracey, who presented the award. Tracey told the audience that DeLucia made a difference in marginalized communities and helped students who might otherwise have dropped out.
DeLucia tells his students to “never give up” and encourages them to “find a way to do it.” As a teacher for 25 years, DeLucia said he teaches the children of his prior students. He works hard to “know each student individually” in order to cater to their personal needs, whether it’s through dinners, special and individualized plans of study, winter coats, or just encouragement.
“They just keep coming back,” he said when asked about the most rewarding part of his job. “They remember you.”
Laurent Sepulveda from Clinton Avenue School and Tori Vessicchio from West Rock STEM Academy were the two other recipients from the teacher category.
Parents were recognized for their time commitments to their schools. Betsy Driebeek, Chris Myers, and Janice Williams were the three honorees. Support staff members honored were Michael Fox from the Office of Youth and Family & Community Engagement, Lucille Patton of Hillhouse High School, and Doreen St. Germaine from the David Academy for Arts & Design Innovation Magnet School.
Competition Coordinator Colin Hill from Yale Mathcounts, an outreach program that involves over 300 middle school students from 20 schools in the New Haven area.
The “community partners: recognized were Colin Hill from Yale Mathcounts, Glenn Macintyre from Securitas Security Inc. and Kelly Wuzzardo from the Connecticut Association for the Performing Arts and Shubert Theater.