November 28, 2011
For only the second time in the history of Kappa Delta Pi
(KDP), the international Honor Society in Education, two
chapters from the same university have won the society’s biennial
Achieving Chapter Excellence (ACE) Award.
Both winners are based at St. John’s University. Several members
from each chapter — Alpha Beta Gamma (Staten Island campus ) and
Kappa Eta (Queens campus) — accepted the
awards at KDP’s
48th Biennial Convocation, held in Indianapolis on
November 3 – 5.
This is the third consecutive time that Alpha Beta
Gamma has won an ACE Award, and the fourth time for Kappa
Eta. Only the top 25 from among 582 KDP chapters worldwide were
chosen to receive this year’s ACE Awards. Executive Board members
from both chapters also delivered original research presentations
at the international conference.
In addition, KDP’s Lucinda Rose Counselor Award
went to Charisse Willis ’89SVC, ’91MS, ’95PD,
Associate Dean of The
School of Education at St. John’s. The award is given once
every two years to a single counselor who has “ten or more years of
service” and is deemed “the best of the best.”
“Having our chapters and students recognized this way is an
uplifting achievement,” said Dean Willis. “The awards testify to
the extraordinary commitment to excellence and service that
distinguishes all our Education students — especially in our KDP
chapters.” Dean Willis added that she is “deeply honored” to
receive the top award for service to St. John’s chapters.
Photo Gallery
Embracing Strong Values
“The fact that we both won the award shows that we both
have very strong chapters,” said Susann Ragone ‘03GEd, Assistant Dean
of The School of Education at the Staten Island campus. “It’s
especially interesting that so many of Kappa Delta Pi’s ideals
coincide with the Vincentian values of St. John’s. Embracing those
values is part of our students’ preparation for outstanding
teaching careers.”
Dean Ragone, who serves as Counselor to the Alpha Beta Gamma
chapter, received the O.L. Davis Jr. “Counselor of
Distinction" Award and the Regional Counselor
Award for the Northeast Region.
Alexandra Foukalas ‘11Ed, ‘13GEd agreed. The
current Associate Counselor for the Queens chapter, Ms.
Foukalas served as its Executive President for the year the ACE
Award was received. “The ACE Award recognizes the best of the best
chapters on the international front,” she said. “Kappa Eta
continues to strive for greatness and will continue to inspire
pre-service teachers and current educators to reach out to the
community at large in both education and Vincentian ways.”
Ms. Foukalas received the Distinguished Chapter Officer
Award for Service — one of the few KDP members to receive
the award for her role as Vice President and Executive
President of a chapter. “It’s well-deserved,” said Erica
Zissel ‘12Ed, President of Kappa Eta. “Alexandra has played a
pivotal role in transforming Kappa Eta into the chapter it is
today, and it’s truly been a privilege to work by her side.”
In addition, Regina Mistretta, Ed.D., Associate
Professor of Education and Associate Counselor for
the Staten Island chapter, won KDP’s “Teacher of Honor”
Designation. At the conference, she joined Mary Lee ‘06GEd
and Diana Vigorito ‘12GEd to conduct a workshop, “Don’t Forget Your
Parents! Cultivating Parent-Child Collaborations in Math and
Science.”
Marilyn Dono-Koulouris, Ed.D., Assistant
Professor and First-Year Student Program Coordinator,
conducted a workshop entitled “Teaching and Learning in a Global
World.”
St. John’s Kappa Eta convocation team also presented a workshop
on “Charter vs. Public Schools: Inner-City Challenges”:
Charisse Willis; Alexandra Foukalas; Sharon Kim ‘12Ed;
Kelvin Sage ‘13Ed; Ashley Thomas ‘12Ed; and Erica
Zissel. “The feedback we received was wonderful,” said Ms.
Foukalas. “One audience member even said it was the best workshop
she had seen the entire week.”
Exceeding Goals
The ACE Awards reflect the abundance and variety
of programs that both of St. John’s chapters have offered over the
past two years, enhancing life and learning for members and the
entire campus community.
According to Ms. Foukalas, the Queens chapter had a strong start
this fall by inducting the largest class in Kappa Eta history,
including 89 new members. The chapter launched a professional
development series that invited faculty to address students about
vital topics in education. The chapter also offers many
professional, service and social events to provide members with a
well-rounded experience.
Other Queens chapter activities involved promoting social causes
including “Light it Up Blue” — a University-wide event
promoting Autism Awareness;Autism
Speaks;“Rachel’s Challenge,” a service initiative
honoring Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine
Massacre; Tabs 4 Kids, a fundraiser for local children’s hospitals;
and Jumpstart, a head-start program that promotes
early literacy in low-income preschools, among others.
The Staten Island chapter launched a literacy project that invited
local pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students — and their
parents — to the Staten Island campus for events that strengthened
literacy awareness. The events included a parents’ workshop and a
“Dr. Seuss Read-Aloud” hosted by students and
supported by a special grant from Kappa Delta Pi.
“Next year,” said Ms. Ragone, “we hope to expand this project to
include adolescent students in middle schools. Middle-school
children are often in special need of assistance with academic
success, and the Staten Island chapter wants to build on our
success with elementary school children to help that
population.”
We invite you to learn more about the programs, students and
faculty of
The School of Education at St. John’s University.