At North Haven High School in North Haven, teacher Robin (Hickerson) River created CASTLE (Community and Schools Trading Learning Experiences), a program designed to develop stronger ties between her special education students and community members. Through the program, Ms. (Hickerson) River's students work with teachers to prepare lessons built around the units they are studying; they then present these lessons to adults from the community in one-on-one mini-courses. Under her direction, students advertise the courses via weekly newsletters and produce promotional videos which they broadcast on the local cable access channels. Ms. (Hickerson) River supports beginning teachers as a mentor, portfolio scorer and presenter in the state's Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST).
1982 Boston College, B.A.
