His Story
Rich Ognibene teaches Regents chemistry and physics at Fairport High School, where he has taught for his whole career. Mr. O begins each lesson at the door, greeting students and asking about their families and games, and his room is filled with their pictures. On the first day of school he gives students a letter about himself and asks them to write one back, and he calls the parents of every student to say, “You have an awesome kid.”
His lessons are built on demonstration. He drops a bowling ball off the school roof to teach gravitational acceleration and explodes sodium in water to teach chemical properties, and he has spelled his name in fire on the blackboard and submerged himself in a barrel of water. Students sit in groups of three “learning pods,” soft music plays during labs, and he sends “Good News” postcards calling a student “an ASTUTE young chemist.” A former principal called his class “lively, focused and fun.”
A “Mr. Ognibene’s Chemistry and Physics Wall of Fame” lists every student who scored 90 or higher on the Regents exam, and his students consistently rank among the school’s best. He insists the real measure of a teacher is “how we provide dignity and success for kids at the other end of the spectrum.”
Beyond the Classroom
Ognibene was named New York State Teacher of the Year in 2008. He is a founder and leader of Brotherhood-Sisterhood Week, which began 19 years ago as a way to address bullying and other relationship issues and teaches altruism, with high school students paired with elementary students. It has raised money for schools in Kenya, the local food shelf and a program to help poor children take part in sports and music, and he has helped other districts start similar programs.
He has mentored four colleagues and many student teachers, and has given keynote addresses and workshops at Nazareth College, St. John Fisher College and SUNY Geneseo and Brockport. He started a program in which every teacher at his school observes another, spoke at the ECET2 conference in Rochester, and met with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in 2011 with a small group of teachers. In his neighborhood he is a block captain and a volunteer for the Arts Festival and the Holiday Home tour.
Philosophy Into Practice
Ognibene believes the most significant issue in education is “lack of teacher voice in educational policy.” He took part in the “Teachers at the Table Act” effort as State Teacher of the Year, wrote an op-ed in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and speaks to teachers and education majors under the theme “Schools are the Answer.” He is one of the few members of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year who is still a full-time classroom teacher.
He sees low teacher morale as a second problem and works against it by nominating colleagues for awards and by having his students write thank-you notes to their former teachers. This year he delivered 300 of them to eight buildings. His approach to learning is “family”: “my success as a teacher is based on my ability to create family in the classroom.”
“By creating family, my classroom becomes a place where students work collaboratively and feel loved.”Richard Ognibene
In His Own Words
“A great teacher is passionate about subject matter and passionate about students.”Richard Ognibene
“In order to be productive, we must be equal partners in the pursuit of knowledge.”Richard Ognibene
“In our own way, we must ALL find the courage to speak.”Richard Ognibene
What Others Said
“Richard Ognibene is the teacher every teacher aspires to be.”Marguerite Izzo, nominator, 2014 NTHF inductee
“Rich Ognibene is quite simply the kind of teacher that we all aspire to become.”William C. Cala, Ed.D., Superintendent, Fairport Central School District
“He is truly the foundation for much of the, “Fairport Family” feel that the Fairport Central School District is known for.”Kristin Larsen, Director of Math, Science and Technology, Fairport Central School District
“Mr. Ognibene shows a genuine interest in his students and wants to know about their interests outside of school.”Mitchel Dickerson, former student
“Teaching is not a profession for Rich. It’s who he is.”Bill Tiberio, music teacher, Fairport High School