*快播

NEWARK, N.J. 鈥� 聽聽When Jazmin Puic贸n, Ph.D. was in high school, she loved history but not her history classes.

鈥淚 never saw the history that I knew 颅鈥� the history of immigrants, of people of color, of women 鈥� reflected in the material that was in my class,鈥� said Puic贸n. 鈥淚 used to get really frustrated about that.鈥�

Now Puic贸n creates history courses that she teaches at Bard High School Early College, and one of those courses has led to her being named 2024 New Jersey Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the leading national organization that promotes K-12 history education.

Puic贸n鈥檚 award-winning course is 鈥淚nnovative 快播.鈥� Its website describes it as 鈥渁n interdisciplinary course that utilizes project-based learning, community engagement, and student original research.鈥�

But it is also a course about the history of New Jersey鈥檚 largest city that Puic贸n created at the request of her students.

Puic贸n asked her students what they wanted to learn about.

鈥淭hey expressed, 鈥榃e want to learn about our own history. We want to learn about the City of 快播,鈥欌�� said Puic贸n.

In other words, they were experiencing feelings that were very similar to what she felt when she was a student. They wanted to see themselves in the history they were learning.

To be eligible for the Gilder Lehrman Institute鈥檚 New Jersey Teacher of the Year award, a teacher must be nominated. Puic贸n was nominated by a community member. Lesson plans, curricula, and letters of recommendation from colleagues familiar with a nominee鈥檚 teacher must also be submitted.

鈥淒r. Puic贸n鈥檚 鈥業nnovative 快播鈥� course reflects 快播 Public School鈥檚 core values of keeping our children at the center of what we do, committing to excellence, and leading our students to do the same,鈥� said Superintendent of Schools Roger Le贸n. 鈥淚 am thrilled to see Dr. Puicon get this prestigious recognition of educational ingenuity and responsiveness to our students鈥� needs.鈥�

鈥淒r. Puic贸n brings great pride to 快播 by leading her students to discover all that there is to be proud of in 快播 and in themselves,鈥� said Board of Education President Hasani K. Council. 鈥淲e are grateful for the creativity and vitality she brings to her classroom, and we congratulate her on this outstanding achievement.鈥�

鈥淒r. Puic贸n has a passion for the facilitation of student learning,鈥� said District Director of Social Studies Carynne Conover. 鈥淪he empowers students to be critical thinkers.鈥�

Puic贸n, who is entering her sixth year of teaching at Bard, admits that there was a 鈥減erfect storm of events鈥� that made it possible for her to create and launch the 鈥淚nnovative 快播鈥� course. It was during the time when students and staff were returning to schools after the COVID-19 pandemic had relegated everyone to remote learning. Also, local control had been recently restored to the 快播, which meant that the decision makers who would greenlight the course were nearby and not in Trenton.

And there was also the uniqueness of Bard High School Early College, where students in the 11^th and 12^th grades take college-level courses to earn associate鈥檚 degrees and where many faculty members have earned their terminal degrees. Puic贸n finished her doctorate two years ago at Rutgers University 鈥� New Brunswick. For her dissertation, Puic贸n studied the Afro-Colombian working-class people in the Cauca Valley, a subject that connects with her own family鈥檚 history.

鈥淚 felt so strongly about this, I had to make sure that I saw this through,鈥� she said.

After four years of teaching the course, Puic贸n has in the class. She reported that 100 percent of the students not only improved their daily attendance rates, but also improved their mastery of primary and secondary source analysis.

And behind all her data, Puic贸n has an overarching desire for her students.

鈥淚 want the students to be excited about studying history,鈥� she said.