Mr.+Freccia

= About Mr. Freccia=

How long have you taught at Newark Charter?

 * This will be my first year at Newark Charter High School. Prior to accepting the position here, I taught at Newark High School for twelve years (from 2002 to 2014). This website has been active since July 2006.

What subjects have you taught?

 * I have taught Economics, American History, World History, American Government and Politics, European History and Psychology.
 * I am a "highly qualified teacher" in the State of Delaware and I am properly certified (through 2017) to teach any Social Studies class that is taught in the state.
 * I am also "AP Certified" to teach AP Government and Politics, AP United States History, and AP European History (via the AP Audit).

What is your educational background?

 * I am originally from Hockessin, Delaware and attended/graduated from Thomas McKean High School in 1998.
 * While at McKean, I was the editor of the school paper //Minstrel// and wrote for //The News Journal's// "Crossroads" section from 1997 to 1998.
 * I also took all three of the AP Social Studies classes that I have taught since while at McKean: United States History (earning a 5), American Government and Politics (earning a 4) and European History (earning a 4)
 * Following graduation, I attended the University of Delaware, earning a Bachelor's Degree in History Education in 2002.
 * I worked for the "DelaWorld 101" Freshman orientation program in 2000 and 2001.
 * I was a Blue Hen Ambassador (student tour guide) for the University of Delaware Admissions Department from 2000 to 2002.
 * I completed my student teaching in 2002 at Glasgow High School under Robert Mendenhall.
 * From 2003-2005, while teaching at Newark High School, I earned a Master's Degree in Educational Instruction from the University of Delaware.
 * I also received additional instructional training for the following AP courses: American Government and Politics (2004) and U.S. History (2006). In order to be prepared for the redesigned AP US History course, I was trained a second time in 2013.
 * I have also been involved in the [|Teach American History] program from 2002 to 2006, the Economic Seminar lecture series at the University of Delaware in 2006, the [|History Literacy Project] from 2008 to 2011, and the [|Freedom Project] from 2010-2014.

What kind of teacher are you?

 * Award winning!
 * University of Delaware Student Teacher Lesson Plan award winner in 2002.
 * Willard Allen Fletcher Prize (for historical scholarship) winner for 2002 for his paper on the Soviet-American ideological battle and it's effect on the race to the moon during the 1960's.
 * Recognized as an Outstanding Teacher by the Delaware Council for Social Studies in 2003.
 * Awarded due to his nomination (by the Christina School District) for Delaware Social Studies Teacher of the Year.
 * Best Lesson plan development for Delaware's Teaching American History Grant for 2002-2003.
 * Was awarded the honor to represent the grant at the 2003 National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) Conference in Chicago, IL.
 * Best Lesson plan development for Delaware's Teaching American History Grant for 2003-2004.
 * Was awarded the honor to represent the grant at the 2004 National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) Conference in Baltimore, MD.
 * Was selected by Delaware's Teaching American History Grant to be the High School Methods presenter for the 2004-2005 cycle
 * Led three "best practices" presentations and helped fellow teachers develop lessons based around using primary source documents.
 * Newark High School Teacher of the Year nominee in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 (won).
 * After winning in 2009, I was ineligible to be nominated as lead teacher on the selection committee.
 * Was one of five teachers honored by the valedictorians of the Class of 2007 at Graduation. (Click here for the text of the speech.)
 * Newark's "Showcase of Excellence in Educational Technology" award winner for the 2007-2008 school year for use of technology in the classroom.
 * Was selected by the Christina School District to be its curriculum representative at the 2008 National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) Conference in Houston, TX.
 * Was one of three teachers honored by the valedictorian of the Class of 2009 at Graduation. (Click here for the text of the speech.)
 * Nominated for the Delaware's Preserve America History Teacher of the Year in 2010 by the Newark administration.
 * Was one of four teachers honored with a Certificate of Appreciation by the PTSA for my work with the NHS Student Government in 2010.
 * Was the only High School teacher in the Christina School District to be honored in the State of Delaware Teacher Recognition Essay contest in [|2011].
 * Was the keynote speaker for the 2012 NHS National Honor Society induction ceremony.
 * Attended the 2011 NCSS Conference in Washington, D.C. as one of four representatives from Newark High School.
 * Attended the 2013 NCSS Conference in St. Louis, Missouri as the sole representative of Newark High School.
 * Was the sole teacher honored by the valedictorian of the Class of 2014 at Graduation. (Click here for the video.)


 * Dedicated!
 * Involved with the Teach American History Grant (for Delaware) from 2002-2006.
 * Lead methods teacher for the H.S. session 2005-2006.
 * Member of the National Council for Social Studies since 2002.
 * Attended the National Conference for NCSS in 2003 (Chicago, IL), 2004 (Baltimore, MD), 2008 (Houston, TX), 2011 (Washington, D.C.), and 2013 (St. Louis, MO).
 * Mr. Freccia served as faculty advisor for Newark's Student Government from 2003 to 2014 (restarting the organization after over a ten-year absence in the school community).
 * Ran various events, including Homecoming (2004-2014), a Prom Fashion Show (2005), the Faculty Dodgeball Tournament (2005-2012), a Student Dodgeball Tournament (2007-2012), Newark Survivor (2008, 2011), the Senior Ceiling Tile Project (2008-2014), and the Newark Student Senate (2010-2014).
 * Involved with Small Learning Communities in their planning and implementation at Newark from 2004 to 2009.
 * Was the team leader of the "9E team" at Newark High School (2004-2006).
 * Was the team leader on the 11th grade cadre of the "Buzz Team" (2007-2009)
 * Involved with the Positive Behavior Support team at Newark High School from 2005-2014.
 * Developed the "RAP" Manual, "RAP" Cards, and logo for program
 * Attended AP seminars in American Government and Politics (2004) and U.S. History (2006 and 2013).
 * Students in my AP classes have scored above district, state, and national norms. See my AP report card for specific data.
 * Involved in redesigning Newark's PEP plan for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years.
 * Involved with the construction of the Social Studies Curriculum in the Christina School District (2006 - present)
 * Lead teacher for the project from September 2007 - May 2009
 * Aligned District Curriculum to the LFS (Learning Focused Schools) Model during the 2010-2011 school year
 * Involved with the Center of Economic Education at the University of Delaware's Economics Seminar (2007)
 * Fellow in the Teachers Network Leadership Institute (Delaware chapter under the Rodel Foundation) for the 2006-2007 school year.
 * Attended the National TNLI Conference in 2006 (Wilmington, DE).
 * Participated in the Christina School District Aspiring Leaders Program during the winter and spring of 2008.
 * Member of the AVID Site Team from 2008 to 2014
 * Attended the AVID National Conference in Orlando, Florida during the Summer of 2008.
 * Newark High School Department Chair for Social Studies from 2008 to 2014
 * Oversaw common curriculum development within the department, PLC coordination, development of elective and AP courses, resource acquisition and maintenance.
 * Was in charge of the third largest Social Studies Department in Delaware
 * Newark's Social Studies Representative to the District Department Chair Meetings for Social Studies from 2008 to 2014.
 * Involved with Professional Learning Communities in their planning and implementation at Newark from 2008 to 2014.
 * Team facilitator of the Social Studies PLC at Newark
 * 11th Grade Team (US History) Leader at Newark
 * Involved with the Historical Literacy Project from 2008 to 2011.
 * Trained in using SMARTBoard technology (2009) and PowerBook/iPod classroom technology (2010)
 * Involved with the Freedom Project from 2010 to 2014 (Christina School District is one of the co-sponsors of the grant)


 * Published!
 * Was featured in the article "Getting Wiki With It" that appeared in [|NEA Today in October 2006]
 * Cited for his creation of the Wikipedia entry on [|Newark High School] and for his work on this website.
 * Mr. Freccia has written a chapter on the History of Newark High School that was found in the book celebrating the City of Newark's 250th birthday celebration entitled //[|Histories of Newark: 1758-2008]// (Wallflowers Press, 2007). The book had a limited printing and was available for purchase starting in November 2007 through the Newark Historical Society.
 * Mr. Freccia was consulted on his use of wikis in the classroom in the book //[|Teaching Tech-Savvy Kids: Bringing Digital Media into the Classroom, Grade 5-12]// by Jessica K. Parker (Corwin Press, 2010)

What else do you bring to the table?

 * I love to travel! I have traveled to 28 states (DE, PA, NJ, MD, NY, WV, CT, MA, RI, VA, IL, TX, FL, CO, WY, SD, ID, MN, UT, AZ, NV, HI, CA, OR, WA, TX, NC, and MO), the District of Columbia, and nine countries (Canada, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Vatican City, Germany, Austria, and The Bahamas).
 * I'm interested in how the past relates to the present day. That can be seen in my classroom decorations (with just over 800 Time and Newsweek magazines on my walls) and my self created lessons used in my classes. An example of my research at work can be found at the Newark High School Wikipedia entry, which is linked on the "Front Page" of this website. Information on that page comes from various locations, such as the Newark Public Library, Newark High School itself, Christina School District records, and the Delaware State Archives.
 * I have always seen History as a story and tell it as one. Students, I have found, are more likely to "tune" in if provided with a point of interest - as a teacher it's my job to not only engage students but also to entertain and inform.

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