Nine teachers and administrators from Boston and Cambridge receive Conant Fellowships

The Graduate School of Education awarded eight Conant Fellowships to outstanding Boston and Cambridge public school teachers and administrators last week.

The Conant Fellowships support the professional growth of outstanding teachers and administrators in the Boston and Cambridge Public Schools who have a commitment to public education and demonstrated leadership potential.

Established in 1986 to celebrate Harvard's 350th anniversary, the fellowships fund a year of part-time or full-time study at the GSE in degree programs or advanced certification programs. The prizes, based on academic and professional achievement, are named for James Bryant Conant, president of Harvard University, 1933-53.

Dean Jerome Murphy welcomed the award recipients at ceremonies last week in the Gutman Conference Center. Cambridge Schools Superintendent Mary Lou McGrath and Boston Deputy Superintendent of Schools Janice Jackson introduced the fellows.

This year's winners are as follows:

Boston Conant Fellows

Janira V. Arocho teaches bilingual biology and chemistry classes at English High School. She has acted as resident adviser and coordinator/supervisor at the Wellesley College Summer Enrichment Program. She was a Wellesley College Scholar, graduating cum laude, and received the Justina de Conde Prize for academic excellence in Spanish. Arocho is an adviser to the National Honor Society. She will seek a master's degree in the Risk and Prevention Program.

Linda Ann Banks-Santilli is a learning adaptive behavior teacher at the Clarence Edwards School. She has taught at the Oliver W. Holmes School, and was for eight years a behavior specialist at the Dearborn School. Previously she taught in the Department of Psychoeducation at McLean Hospital, was acting director of the A.S. Degree Program and a part-time instructor in child care training at Wheelock College. Banks-Santilli received the Lucy Wheelock Award and a Golden Apple Award in the Boston Public Schools. She is a member of the Wheelock College Corporation and serves on its educational policy committee. She plans to pursue a certificate of advanced study in Learning and Teaching.

Eva Rachel Ostrum teaches 9th-grade civics and comparative government at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester. She sits on the School Site Council and the Burke Instructional Leadership Team. She has taught high school history and social studies at the Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, Mass., and has also served as assistant director of proposal development at Boston University and assistant director of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale University. She has earned a master's degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government. She will seek a doctoral degree in Learning and Teaching.

Ivy Yau-wah Wong has taught in Boston Public Schools for 19 years as a bilingual elementary and middle school teacher in music, English, and social studies. Since 1993, she has served as music history teacher and choral director at the Boston Latin School. She has also taught at the William H. Taft School, the Harriet Baldwin School, the M. Snowden International High School, the Harvard Kent School, and the Josiah Quincy School. Wong was included in Who's Who Among America's Teachers in 1996, was lead teacher at the Boston Latin School in 1995, and received the Golden Apple Teacher Award. Wong will pursue a certificate of advanced study in Learning and Teaching.

Cambridge Conant Fellows

Maria A. Ferri has worked in the Cambridge Public Schools since 1977, teaching at elementary and high school levels. She has held the position of staff developer, and since 1991, that of apprenticeship specialist and coordinator of Internship Programs. She has also worked as a conference and event planner for M.I.T., Lesley College, and the University of California, Berkeley. Ferri has participated in Jobs for the Future since 1994, and in 1996 received its Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. She plans to pursue a certificate of advanced study in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy.

Linda Susan Lipkin has taught English since 1987 at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. She has held the position of adjunct English professor at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. Lipkin has received the Cambridge Teachers Association Golden Apple Award, and won grants from various organizations, including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Cambridge School Department. She is a co-adviser for the Cambridge Young Women's Commission and coach for the Cambridge Crew Club. She has served as a group leader for student teachers in the GSE master's program and holds a master's degree in Teaching and Curriculum from the GSE. She will pursue a certificate of advanced study in the Individualized Program.

Vincent Mili Jr. has been a bilingual, special needs, physical education teacher, and coach in the Cambridge Public Schools for 17 years. Since 1984, he has taught grades K-8 at the Charles G. Harrington School. He has served as teacher and/or traveling physical education specialist at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin, Tobin, Peabody, Haggerty, Longfellow, Lincoln, Graham-Parks, Morse, and Fletcher schools, and for 10 years was a coach at Boston Latin School. Mili has been the recipient of a "Coach of the Year" award from the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association. He is a member of the board of directors of Cambridge Youth Hockey and volunteer assistant coach of Cambridge Little League Baseball. He will seek a certificate of advanced study in Learning and Teaching.

Ellen Anne Willard has worked in the Cambridge Schools since 1979, where for the past nine years she has served as assistant director of Special Education. Willard has received the Cambridge School Department's Horace Mann Award, and has twice been the recipient of the Massachusetts Department of Education's Promising Practice Award. She is a member of the Massachusetts Urban Special Education Leadership Committee and the Massachusetts Association of Pupil Personnel Administration. Her task force experience includes chairing and co-chairing work on Persian Gulf curriculum, special education, and alternative schools. Willard plans to pursue a certificate of advanced study in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy.