Author: Janelle Davis
1. What is your art/education background and what are you doing now? Growing up, I was a classically trained painter and sculptor. I spent time studying at the Art Students League in Manhattan. I learned a lot from my mother, who was a professional portrait painter while raising me. I got my undergraduate degree in sculpture at California College of the Arts. After two years, I took a break from my studies and backpacked throughout Asia and the Middle East. This experience really helped to inform my practices as an artist, an educator, and a person. Part of that time…
Pam Ranieri, Director of Children’s Programming at the Jewish Community Center of Syracuse 1. What led you to Director of Children’s Programming at the Jewish Community Center of Syracuse (JCC)? I started working in an early childhood program in a for-profit center for about 10 years. I came to the realization that the for-profit world of childcare wasn’t for me. It didn’t feel like the values for raising children were the top priority. I found the Jewish Community Center, and loved the idea of a non for profit and putting it all back into the community and the kids. 2.…
1. What is your background and where are you now? I am a 1986 graduate of Ithaca College. For a year, I worked in New York City at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center. I then left for a 2½ year assignment with the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. I returned to Syracuse and worked at Crouse Irving Memorial Hospital for three years. That is how I was led to the North Syracuse Early Education Program. A young mother came to my office with back pain She shared with me that she had a young son with cerebral palsy, and it…
1. What is your education background and what you are currently doing? I have been working in schools and at summer camps for almost 20 years now. My first experience as a camp counselor was when I spent three summers working at an overnight camp called Camp Colby in Saranac Lake as an Environmental Educator for the DEC. This is where I first fell in love with working at summer camps! Later, I transitioned back to Syracuse for the summers, and was fortunate to find my way into the perfect position at Manlius Pebble Hill School’s Summer Place as a camp counselor. After…
1. What is your education background and what are you currently teaching? Spanish has been one of the loves of my life since I’ve been going to school. My high school Spanish teacher, Señora McLaud, really had an impact on me. She always said I was really great at Spanish, but would be a lot better if I was more disciplined. She suggested I go into the military to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, Calif. I didn’t think much of it then, so after graduating, I went to Cortland State and majored in physical education. Joining…
1. What is your education/coaching background and what are you doing now? After graduating from Fredonia State University, I started as the boys varsity soccer coach at Fayetteville-Manlius the summer after. I moved to Syracuse from my hometown of Webster and taught sixth grade at Donlin Drive in Liverpool as a one year long-term substitute position. The following year, I took a fifth grade position in F-M. I taught at the middle school level for five or six years before moving to high school, where I taught U.S. history and economics until June of 2020. I retired from teaching full…
1. What is your background and what/where are you teaching now? Throughout my music career, I have always taught private lessons. I have a degree in performance from SUNY Oswego. The year after I graduated, I was asked to teach as an adjunct professor for the Oswego jazz lab group. I started getting asked to do things like teach music groups at CNY Pace. I did that for 10 years until the pandemic started. I ran music groups at Elmcrest Music Center. Then I started teaching in Auburn at Spotlight Studios. I started just filling in and then they asked…
1. What is your education background and what do you currently teach? I am a visual arts teacher for the North Syracuse Central School District. This year, I am teaching grades K-6 between Allen Road Elementary and Gillette Road Middle School. My first degree was not for teaching. I attended The College of Saint Rose, in Albany, graduating with a BFA in graphic design. I soon started a career in the Graphic Arts, eventually becoming the art director for a textbook publication company. I enjoyed what I was doing but knew I should have gone into art education to become a…
1.What is your teaching background and where are you teaching now? I live in Camillus with my three kids and husband, who is also a teacher. This will be my 21st year teaching! I currently teach second grade at the Onondaga Nation School, where I have also taught kindergarten and first grade. 2. Did you implement any new strategies during COVID-19 that you will keep moving forward? COVID has definitely been a trying time for my school, and for the Onondaga Nation in general. Both teachers and students have learned to adapt to online learning, as we were 100% virtual for…
1. How did you get into the education field and where are you now? I grew up in the education lifestyle. My mother was a teacher at Split Rock Elementary School. Even in high school, I would work at the Learning Center tutoring kids. When I graduated college in 2009, no one was hiring in Central New York, so I moved to Virginia where I taught fourth grade for four years. As soon as the West Genesee School District was hiring again, I started applying. I taught third grade at Onondaga Road Elementary for six years before working as a…