TEACHER TESTIMONIALS

Giuliana Reitzfeld and DeAndra Henderson, Team Teachers in a Fifth Grade ICT classroom

Off the Page is an incredible educational experience for students. Our classroom is a mix of general education and special education students and Off the Page is beneficial to all. Even our most difficult to engage students respond with positive enthusiasm to their lessons. It is one thing to have students read an article or essay about a particular time in history; it is another thing altogether to have them experience the time period through interactive activities.  Every time Off the Page is scheduled to be in our classroom, the response from the students is always the same…”YES!”

Jen Bruckler, Fourth Grade Gifted and Talented Teacher

“I think anytime you teach social studies outside of the textbook is a good thing. And it makes the concepts and history much more meaningful to them.”

“It had nothing to do with ability level, which was huge. I mean a lot of the times the kids can feel that they’re being singled out or if they notice they’re always going to be the ones pulled into the carpet for a small group, you know it kind of weighs on them after a while. But if you have them working in these fun, really enriching activities that go across the spectrum, then it’s very powerful.”

Michele Kertesz, Team Teacher in a Fourth Grade ICT classroom

“We love working with you. It has given our students the chance to express themselves in non-traditional ways. Students that might be shy or quiet during classroom discussions seem to open up and participate more during our sessions with you. Our partnership with you helps enhance and brings to life our Social Studies curriculum. The movements help the students to remember more and we can refer back to the activities they did with you.”

Janet Wong, Special Education Teacher in a Fourth Grade ICT classroom

“For those of the kids who struggle to read text on paper or in a textbook, this helps because it gives them a different way of learning it rather than having to struggle and stare at words on paper. Bringing in the arts really helped a lot of those strugglers”

Student Testimonials

“This is the best way to have social studies” ~Andrew

“I would rather be doing how you teach us because when I’m just sitting and reading the texbook… I really don’t learn as much as I do when I act out the thing because it sticks in your mind.” ~Stephen

“Social Studies I have a hard time with sometimes but it gives you a better understanding.” ~Jacob

“I like it when I physically move because it feels like real-you’re not reading it you’re doing it.” ~Adrianna

“It makes me understand the subject a lot more than I would have.” ~Sophie

Parent Testimonials

Walecia Konrad (2012)

“OFF the page turned my eleven-year-old son ON! Stephen was lucky enough to have Ms. Vicky and Ms. Jody in his classroom for a pilot program last year for fourth grade. In that year, Stephen spent the first few months fairly disconnected with his two classroom teachers. They were both very competent and skilled and Stephen respected and admired both of them. But there just wasn’t that spark. Until Off the Page made its debut. Through the interactive and vocal activities that Ms. Jody and Ms. Vicky did in the class, including reenacting coming off the boat onto Ellis Island, woman’s suffrage and many other memorable aspects of the fourth grade social studies curriculum, Stephen found his voice in the classroom — and his teachers listened! Not only did Stephen benefit from each and every session, coming home brimming with stories from the activities, but it was clear his teachers now saw him in a different, more positive light. What was disruptive or bossy in the confines of the classroom turned into leadership and thoughtfulness in the more creative and encouraging culture of Off the Page.
Everyone benefited. My son shined in the last half of fourth grade, for which I’m eternally grateful to Off the Page. All the children benefited from the enriching, hands on version of the curriculum and the teachers, god bless their open minds, could jump off from the experience and bring these benefits to bear with each of the students each day of class.

Stephen was lucky enough to participate in Off the Page again in fifth grade during the very intense interactive activities surrounding the civil rights movement segment of the social studies curriculum. Debate became a focal point for this group and, I must say, Stephen is still talking about many of the intense discussions this class had. For better or worse, I think his classroom teacher (a veteran, master class teacher who greeted Off the Page with open arms) summed it up best in her end of the year comments on Stephen’s report card: “I look forward to hearing about your success on the sixth grade debate team!”

This is the transforming magic that Off the Page can do. Please support it in whatever way you can. It changes lives. And that is not an exaggeration.”

Juliet Stams (2012)

“My son thoroughly enjoyed the 8 week program that Vicky and Jody presented to the 5th Grade of PS 10. He came up with facts about the Civil Rights Movement that he may never have known or understood without their extraordinary way of bringing history to life. I am so grateful for Off The Page and cannot wait until my younger son is learning this way with Vicky and Jody.”

Shana Corey (2012)

“I felt so lucky that my son had Off the Page come to his PreK class this year. He loved Ms. Jody and Ms. Vicky and they had such a great way of working with the kids on their level and really getting them excited and engaged. I loved how they would take whatever the teacher was working on, and use that as the basis of that week’s visit to really extend what the kids were already doing in the classroom and allow them to go a little deeper into the subject, from a different angle. School’s been out for two weeks, and we’re still all singing Off the Page songs.”

Tyndall Arrasmith (2013)

“I just wanted to take a moment to let you know how much Waylon, our 4 yr old son, in Ms. Reyes class, enjoyed the “Off the Page” program. For a boy of few words, he often spoke about Miss Jody & Miss Vicky. He seemed to really open up during his “Off the Page” time. I think that “Off the Page” is one of the many great programs you all use to help kids learn and express themselves at PS10. I hope it stays around.”