Kate Kerrane, Group 4 Teacher
Kate says, "I am a native Newarker (Newarkian?) now living in Woodstown, New Jersey with my husband and children. I continue to feel close ties with the Newark community and am thrilled to have the honor of teaching at NCCL.
"When I was growing up I knew that I wanted to be a social worker or a teacher. My first job was as a social worker for an agency called Independent Living Inc., and there I found that I enjoyed the teaching aspect of my job the most. I love working with children and decided to go back to school to get my degree in elementary education. As graduation neared, I was distressed by the thought that I would have a difficult time finding a job in a school that fit with my philosophy of teaching. By a stroke of good fortune, NCCL was hiring a teacher. I literally ran over to the school with my resume, pausing only briefly to change out of my pajamas.
"I find teaching at NCCL to be a utopian teaching experience. It is invigorating to teach in an environment where teachers and students can have an influence on the curriculum and methods by which they learn. I am learning every day right along with the students, and our days together are always invigorating. I love seeing that spark of enthusiasm in my students and find it to be contagious.
"Although I teach a variety of subject areas, teaching reading and writing are my passion. I can never be found without a book in hand and love to escape into different worlds where I meet new people. I try to instill my love for reading in my students. Reading discussion time is very exciting for me and I enjoy listening to the conversations that the students have with each other.
"Through our discussions of literature, we talk a great deal about writing and look to a wide variety of authors to gain inspiration for our own writing. I am constantly amazed at the breadth and sophistication of my students' writing. It is such a joy to teach such creative minds!
"I love the all-school meeting where students and teachers have equal input into the issues being discussed. Topics can range from deciding important school rules to lengthy discussions about flushing toilets or wagon etiquette. That's what is so great about NCCL; it feels like I'm part of a very large, caring family. Kids look out for each other, and it is not uncommon to see kids from 6-13 playing willingly together, exchanging hugs and high-fives.
"Outside of school, I am the mother two energetic kids. Any other free time that I have is spent doing stained glass, gardening and quilting. I plan on teaching at NCCL until they bury me in the sandbox behind the school."
Kate has a B.A. in Elementary Education with a minor in Women's Studies from the University of Delaware. She taught here from 1991-1997 and returned in 2006 after starting her family.
