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Jo Ann Nahirny

Turned Down for a Job Outside the Classroom, a Teacher Rediscovers Her Mission

May 4, 2014 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

It’s a sad notion that administrators, school boards, human resources offices and so-called reformists have unfortunately inculcated in teachers over the years, this idea that if you want to be successful or be taken seriously, or make any sort of impact, that you must stop teaching to do so.

Matanzas High School Junior Kathryn Perez Named Runner-Up in New York Times Editorial Writing Contest

April 24, 2014 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

Kathryn Perez, a witty, self-assured 16-year-old junior who started writing when she was about 5, caught the attention of the New York Times judges with a counterintuitive editorial celebrating Barbie’s feminist virtues.

A Matanzas High Teacher Reveals Her Evaluation Scores, and the Absurdity of Florida’s “VAM” Scam

February 26, 2014 | FlaglerLive | 48 Comments

The author in her class at Matanzas High School, with students who may or may not have factored in her "value-added model" scores that determine half her evaluation. Nahirny is not a fan of VAM scores. (© FlaglerLive)

What do my almighty “VAM” scores reveal about me, my students, the quality of my instruction or what goes on in my classroom? Absolutely nothing, writes JoAnn Nahirny, who deconstructs Florida’s new teacher-evaluation scores, hers among them, and shows why they have little basis in reality, though they may well define a teacher’s fate.

How I’m Graduating My Children From College Debt-Free: Planning, and Lots of Hard Work

January 12, 2014 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Explaining what it takes to develop college-ready students and debt-free parents, columnist and Matanzas High teacher Jo An n Nahiriny describes the frustrations of dealing with students and families who don’t plan ahead and busts the myth that a college education must be debt-ridden.

Florida’s Two-Faced Feedback to Teachers: Do as We Say, Not As We Fail to Do

March 17, 2013 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

The Florida Department of Education expects its teachers to give immediate and detailed feedback to students on all work, yet the state will take three months to produce FCAT results, and it will do so without one iota of feedback other than a grade. Jo Ann Nahirny explores the hypocrisy.

As Gov. Scott Calls for $2,500 Teacher Raise, Reactions Are More Skeptical Than Jubilant

January 23, 2013 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Even in Flagler County, teachers and the school board chairman reacted to Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal with a mixture of skepticism and guarded optimism, as questions about math, political motives and local control abound.

Journey for Nahirny: A Walk-A-Thon to Benefit JoAnn Nahirny Friday at Matanzas

December 6, 2012 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

A fund-raiser is being organized by the Flagler County Educators Association and the Matanzas High School Student Government Association on Mr.s Nahirny’s behalf Friday, Dec. 7, at Matanzas High School, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Tumor Gone, Staples Removed, Humor and Grit Intact: A Teacher Returns to Matanzas

December 6, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

On medical leave for cancer treatment since September, Jo Ann Nahirny describes in harrowing and moving detail her final medical hurdles and clearances before deciding to return to her classroom almost a month early, on Dec. 10.

Not Dead, Not Dying, and Still Shopping, But Humbled By Cancer’s Side-Effects

November 12, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Where she'd rather be: the author, in her classroom at Matanzas High School, the day before she took a three-month leave for cancer treatment. She goes into surgery on Tuesday, Nov. 13. (© FlaglerLive)

Almost two months into her cancer treatment, Jo Ann Nahirny–who faces surgery Tuesday–surveys the long list of side-effects, good and bad, that she’s endured, from crushing bills to the moving affection of students and friends, and am ever- loyal husband.

From Tape-Downs to Lockdowns: A Day in the So-Called Life of a Cancer Patient

September 30, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Three radiation treatments in and with 39 to go, Jo Ann Nahirny describes life at the curfew-happy Hope Lodge for cancer patients, her manhandling on the radiation table, and her husband’s angelic patience.

Matanzas Pirates’ Mission: A Senior Rallies Students and Faculty For a Teacher’s Survival

September 25, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Juan Pablo Torres, a senior at Matanzas High School, decided to repay his English teacher, now undergoing cancer treatment in Gainesville, by showing her how students and teachers at Matanzas take care of their own.

At Matanzas High School, an Irrepressible Teacher’s Untimely Farewell, For Now

September 18, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Jo Ann Nahirny in her element, in her classroom today at Matanzas High School, on her last day of class before the new year. Click on the image for larger view. (© FlaglerLive)

Jo Ann Nahirny, an English teacher at Matanzas, put in her last day of the year today before a three-month leave filled with radiation treatments and surgery as she battles a cancer’s recurrence. This is the story of her last day in class.

Ripped from Her Trenches, a Teacher Mobilizes for Months of Cancer Combat, and Anguish

September 16, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

From feeling like a human easel to a convicted felon, Matanzas teacher Jo Ann Nahirny takes us step by step through the anguish of preparing for cancer treatment and its implications–physical, financial, emotional and spiritual.

AP Oncology: What a Teacher Did On Her Summer ‘Vacation,’ and How It is Ending

August 8, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

adcvanced placement test scoring joann nahirny cancer diagnosis

Matanzas High teacher and columnist JoAnn Nahirny returns from what was not exactly a summer break, with a story of her students’ unique success in the Flagler school district–and shattering news about herself for her returning students next week.

The Joy of Writing, Strangled by FCAT
Testing, Is Revived One Page at a Time

June 3, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Most students hate to write. Jo Ann Nahirny can’t blame them. Schools have snuffed the joy out of writing, all in the name of standardized testing, she writes, as describes how she empowers them to claim their voice back.

Advanced Placement Gambit: Challenging Students at the Risk of Penalizing Teachers

May 20, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Flagler County high schools are encouraging more students to take Advanced Placement tests, which beef up a school’s profile. But when students fail the testm their teachers are penalized, now that their pay is tied to student performance.

Dear Mrs. Nahirny: Tales From the “Don’t Quit” File on Teacher Appreciation Week

May 6, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Every year during Teacher Appreciation Week (May 7-11), Matanzas’s Jo Ann Nahirny has her English students write thank you cards to teachers, and receives a few herself, which she’s always kept in what she calls her “don’t quit” file. She opens it up.

Teachers’ Bane: Students Who Don’t
Give a Damn, and Parents Who Reward Them

March 19, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

In her latest installment from the trenches, teacher Jo Ann Nahirny describes how regulations force teachers’ time to be consumed by efforts to improve the performance of indifferent students at the expense of students who actually want to learn.

When 125 Students, Infinite Expectations and Untold Critics Encircle Teachers’ 36-Hour Day

February 26, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 41 Comments

Jean-Pierre Raynaud's 'Human Space' (1995).

Down time after dismissal? Summers off? Think again. Matanzas High School teacher Jo Ann Nahirny, in her latest installment from the trenches, describes permanent on-call nature of a teacher’s days and evenings.

Deaf District as Flagler Students Are Cheated Out of Dozens of Hours of Test Preparation

January 29, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

fcat writing test jo ann nahirny florida schools

As high schools prepare students for the FCAT writing test in a few weeks and end-of course exams in May, Matanzas High School’s Jo Ann Nahirny explains how the district’s abbreviated schedule is hurting student preparation and will likely hurt results. Yet administrators seem deaf to alternatives.

As School Board Votes on Uniform Policy, a Reality Check From the Trenches

January 16, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 41 Comments

Drawing on arresting experiences, Jo Ann Nahirny, a veteran teacher at Matanzas High School, disputes assumptions on school uniforms in a letter to Flagler County School Board members.

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