Her Story
Jane Koszoru is a third-generation teacher. Her grandmother and mother taught in rural one-room schools and both of her sisters are teachers, so, she says, when she started 31 years ago she “didn’t have a well-defined educational philosophy — I just had a long family tradition.” She earned her A.A. (1970) and B.A. in education (1972) from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in English education from Nova Southeastern University (1987). She began in 1972 at Driftwood Middle School in Hollywood, Florida, where she taught English, math, science and journalism, and she is not shy about owing “an apology to all of the students I ‘taught’ in 1972.”
From 1978 to 2002 she taught at Coral Springs High School, where she taught AP Language and Composition, creative writing and American literature, advised the newspaper, yearbook and literary magazine, chaired the English department and wrote grants. Since 2002 she has taught juniors at The College Academy @ Broward Community College, a magnet program in which high school students earn their diploma and an associate degree together, and she also teaches English at the college and for Florida Atlantic University’s Teaching and Leadership Center.
Her honors include Broward County Teacher of the Year (2003), Florida Region V Teacher of the Year and one of five state finalists (2004), Florida English Teacher of the Year (1998), National Board Certification (1999) and a Library of Congress Fellowship (2001). In 2002 she was named to the 15-member English Standards Committee of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which writes the standards for English teachers. In February 2003 Broward County proclaimed “Jane M. Koszoru Appreciation Day.”
Beyond the Classroom
Koszoru co-wrote three grants that brought about $350,000 to Coral Springs High School for career pathways and four-year digital portfolios, including the state School-to-Career grant, the Annenberg Challenge grant and the federal Smaller Learning Communities grant. She trained business partners and parents to judge student exhibitions, and her portfolio centerpiece asked students to research a problem in a career they cared about.
She also built service projects into her classes. In one, her juniors and seniors in creative writing paired with a second grade class of mostly non-native English speakers and made a personalized alphabet book, “When I Grow Up,” with a photo, a story and a picture to color for every child. Her class then read the books aloud to their seven-year-old “buddies.” “A toothless 7-year-old locked in the hug of an awkward 17-year-old,” she writes, “is the kind of evidence that can’t be quantified with a number.”
Koszoru is a College Board English Vertical Team trainer, a delegate to the 2003 U.S. Department of Education Summit on Improving American High Schools, and a mentor to beginning teachers and National Board candidates. She takes particular pride in a former student, Tameka King, who was named the Florida Council of Teachers of English Beginning Teacher of the Year in her third year of teaching.
Philosophy Into Practice
Koszoru’s classroom, in her words, is “a study in organized chaos,” its walls covered in student-made plates, hats, banners and a quilt of American authors. In her American Authors Family Reunion project, students choose an author, write a paper, make a plate, banner, hat or quilt square that symbolizes the author’s work, then “speak” as the author on a tour of younger classes and share desserts like “Southern Dirt Pudding” in honor of William Faulkner. In another project, students wrote poems, turned them into three-dimensional paper sculptures and finished with a beatnik coffeehouse with black lights and bongo drums. Students call her “Mrs. Work,” according to her principal, because her expectations are high, “but not a single student has ever asked to be transferred to a different class.”
“Creating magic depends on remembering that the rabbit has to keep popping out of a different hat.”— from her essay, “In the Classroom”
“I believe that all children are capable of high achievement and that they thrive in environments where they feel valued.”— from her essay, “Professional Profile”
In Her Own Words
“Success can’t always be quantified with a number.”— from her essay, “How Do You Measure Success?”
“I am convinced that students take ownership when learning is personalized.”— from her essay, “In the Classroom”
“Student performance is absolutely tied to teacher expectations.”— from her essay, “Professional Profile”
“The satisfaction and the sheer joy I experience when I see that my students have learned is… priceless.”— from her essay, “Professional Profile”
“What is in the heart is as important as what is in the head.”— from her essay, “In the Classroom”
What Others Said
“I was just one of Jane Koszoru’s 5,000 students. As my mother, her dedication and cheerful demeanor amazed me. As my teacher, her knowledge and expertise awed me.”— Colleen Koszoru, her daughter, in her nomination
“I know that Janie is the BEST teacher I have ever worked with.”— Nell Sapp, Principal, The College Academy @ BCC
“She epitomizes what all educators should aspire to be: a lifelong classroom teacher who has viewed the pinnacle of education as being with students every day.”— Diane Fettrow, Secondary Language Arts Curriculum Specialist, Broward County
“Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about this outstanding teacher is her ability to help her students believe in themselves.”— Robert D. Parks, Ed.D., Broward County School Board member
“Ms. Koszoru has exemplified the highest level of excellence in the teaching profession during her distinguished 31-year career.”— Dr. Frank Till, Superintendent of Schools, Broward County
“In the classroom, Janie is a dynamo; her enthusiasm, energy, and good humor serve to motivate her students and to keep her classroom lively.”— Nancy Sakal, colleague, The College Academy @ BCC
“She has the rare ability to make what she teaches seem truly important.”— Charles P. Mink, parent of a student
“Mrs. Jane Koszoru is not just a teacher, but an explorer, mentor, friend, and an amazing person.”— Lillie Thomas, student
“Her shining positivity and warm heart makes her class a fun learning environment that every student looks forward to each day.”— Aileen Tay-Lee, student