The Florence Township School District

Ri verfront School
500 East Front Street
Florence, NJ 08518
499-4647
www.florence.k12.nj.us

December 2013


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An oulslanding educalor and coIIeague, Ms. GaIIo reguIarIy imIemenls lechnoIogy resources inlo her
coIIeclion of besl raclices lo meel lhe differenlialed needs of nol onIy her sludenls, bul lhose beyond her
cIassroom. As a leam Iayer and esleemed coIIeague, she has nol |usl accessed and deveIoed
melhodoIogies lo imrove inslruclion, bul she has viIIingIy shared lhose raclices vilh our Iearning
communily.

Ms. GaIIo's conlribulions lo our Iearning communily incIuded her assisling vilh lraining in lhe
Teachscae lechnoIogy, as our dislricl, and aII dislricls in lhe slale, moved lovard lhe Achieve Nev
}ersey slale mandales. Ior our slaff, lhis lraining vas a daunling lask. Mary Kale GaIIo suorled lhal
lraining in very cIear and user-friendIy slaff deveIomenl resenlalions during our facuIly meelings.

During lhe summer, Ms. GaIIo vorked for our dislricl in dala-mining and anaIysis of resuIls of sludenls'
Nev }ersey slandardized lesling, Measures of Academic Irogress Assessmenls (MAI), and reading
IeveIs, so lhal leachers vouId more accuraleIy meel lhe differenlialed needs of lheir sludenls, and so lhal
our schooI couId eslabIish goaIs accuraleIy lied lo inslruclionaI imrovemenl. The sreadsheel she
crealed vas user-friendIy in every vay- il vas easy lo undersland and access.

Ms. GaIIo aroached meeling lhe needs of lechnoIogy lraining and imIemenlalion by our slaff by
crealing a lechnoIogy survey lo assess and riorilize lhe slaff needs. Thereafler, she offered a IrofessionaI
DeveIomenl Worksho on free veb looIs lhal leachers couId use in lhe cIassroom. AddilionaIIy, she
crealed a reference documenl lhal vas nol onIy a lake-avay, bul soughl afler by many slaffers vho couId
nol allend her vorksho. In lrue rofessionaI slyIe, Ms. GaIIo senl il lo our enlire slaff as a reference looI.

Wilh lhe acquisilion of a nev Ialo carl for our buiIding came roceduraI needs. Mary Kale GaIIo vas
inslrumenlaI in vorking vilh our dislricl lechnoIogy manager in lhe assembIy of Ialo carl, and lhen
crealed rocedures vilh user sign-ouls. She lhen resenled lhis rocess lo our slaff al anolher facuIly
meeling.

Ms. GaIIo crealed on-Iine sign-us for aII lhe schooI's comuler Iabs. Afler lhe success of lhis user-
friendIy rocedure, she crealed on-Iine Iibrary use sign-us for cIasses. Ixanding uon lhis concel,
Ms. GaIIo crealed on-Iine sign-us for scheduIing her Iarenl-Teacher Conferences. Given her
aroachabiIily and coIIegiaIily, il vas easy lo see lhal Ms. GaIIo vas soughl afler by olher leachers and
grade IeveI leaching leams as a consuIlanl lo assisl lhem in imIemenling on-Iine sign-us for
conferences.


Mary Kale GaIIo/. 2

Whal makes Ms. GaIIo's lechnoIogy ideas and imIemenlalions even more effeclive is her coIIegiaIily and
kind demeanor. Thal slaled, one mighl undersland Mary Kale GaIIo's membershi in our schooI's
CuIlure Commillee, a grou vhose members are dedicaled lo find osilive vays lo molivale sludenls
and aduIls lhrough osilive exeriences and evenls in our schooI. SureIy enough, Mary Kale vas caIIed
uon by lhe commillee lo creale and dislribule an on-Iine survey lo idenlify a needs assessmenl reIaled lo
schooI cIimale.

On a reguIar basis Mary Kale GaIIo eilher voIunleers or is caIIed uon lo offer day-lo-day assislance,
lraining, and/or lroubIeshooling lo slaff members vho need suorl vilh our schooI's Genesis- dala
managemenl syslem and arenl orlaI, On Course- our schooI's on-Iine Iesson Ianning rogram, Sludy
IsIand- our on-Iine raclice and assessmenl looI for malh and Iileracy skiII vork, our Smarl oards,
Discover Iducalion video-slreaming, documenl cameras, or any olher reguIarIy used lechnoIogy, aII of
vhich one can observe reguIarIy imIemenled in Ms. GaIIo's cIassroom, vhere lechnoIogy oorlunilies
for Iearning are as exlensive as her sludenl-cenlered aroach and resonsive cIassroom.

Ms. GaIIo knovs no hours. She is lhe faciIilalor of our afler-schooI sludenls' DigilaI Media Iroduclions
CIub. There, sludenls make videos lhal address buIIying and heaIlhy IifeslyIes, aIso, sludenls Iearn hov
lo lake holos for schooI evenls. In addilion, for evening evenls, such as our IamiIy Lileracy Nighl, Ms.
GaIIo vas our oinl erson in selling u lechnoIogy, or behind lhe Iens of her camera as our schooI
holograher.

Ms. GaIIo's exerience al Cheslnul HiII CoIIege has enhanced her rofessionaI exceIIence in vhal she
does each and every day, as a smarl and forvard-lhinking rofessionaI vilh a dee Iove for chiIdren and
dedicalion lo our schooI communily. And vhiIe I am cerlain hov much Mary Kale GaIIo has benefilled
from her vork al Cheslnul HiII, I am nol cerlain lhal she reaIizes hov much our enlire schooI communily
has benefilled from her exerience and has become richer for her conlribulions lo il.

ReseclfuIIy submilled,
Theresa IIias
IrinciaI, Riverfronl SchooI