Update on Carlene Anderson

Carlene Anderson was born in Hanover, Jamaica. In 1979, her family moved to Paterson, New Jersey. She is a graduate of PS # 12 and John F. Kennedy H.S. in Paterson, NJ. After receiving a BA in Psychology (’96) and subsequent MSW (’99) degree from The University of South Carolina, Carlene began her career as an educator by alternate route (’02) through William Paterson University.

In April 2002, she joined the Paterson Public Schools. She has inspired many students at the elementary level. Her third grade classroom became a laboratory for innovation and global collaboration with educators across America and around the world. As a teacher mentor at PS # 12 and an adjunct professor with William Paterson University, she has contributed to the discussion and influence of professional development schools in preparing pre-service teachers as 21st Century citizens for the field of education.

Carlene has collaborated with notable academicians as well as political and community leaders within the larger context. She has been a presenter at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE), the National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS), and The Ministry of Education in Guyana, South America. She has contributed to the discourse of effectively using technology and social media to promote global collaborations and collegiality among educators at the elementary level.

On May 14, 2014, Carlene earned a Masters of Education in educational leadership from William Paterson University,Cohort # 13. Carlene aspires to become a world changer. She is a transformational leader who believes in the power of beginning with her immediate sphere of influence.

Using Innovations in Technology to Challenge
and Engage Inner-City Students

Carlene Anderson, 3rd grade language arts and social studies teacher at Paterson, New Jersey's PS #12, has been an advocate of engaging her students in real life experiences, including social action projects, digital storytelling as a part of the Points of View initiative, and interaction with other students through the Chatting Across the USA  project.

Collaboration has been a key part of the success of these efforts. Carlene and her colleagues, Cherrie MacInnes (ME) and Sueann Clayton (SD), recently met in Buffalo, South Dakota for a professional development conference that resulted from the CATU project. These innovators have established an invaluable professional learning community that spans from Maine to Hawaii. While in SD, the three 3rd grade teachers were amazed at the lessons to be learned from each other. During an interview with Gary Clanton, Carlene's students were treated to a few footnotes about the Homestead Act of 1862, The Dust Bowl, and The Great Depression of the 1930's. (These lessons correlated well with two stories being read in the Harcourt Trophies 3rd Grade Reading series, "Leah's Pony" and "Yippee Yay!")

Carlene has succeeded at establishing a partnership with the Ministry of Education in Guyana. She and her students participated in Guyana’s Science and Technology Fair on 9/23/11 via Skype! As part of a professional development trip to Guyana, Carlene and her colleagues in Guyana have been able to expand the Points of View initiative to broaden their global perspective. Digital stories such as “Stop the Drugs,” “Daddy Blues,” and “Deep and Wide,” were part of the on-going effort to strengthen the voice of the souls set free from the frustration of limitation that is often experienced by students and educators in inner-cities as well as third world nations. As a result, Points of View has been able to validate the concerns that many of our children are facing.

Recently, Mrs. Anderson and her students have broadened their horizon to include distance learning opportunities with students at Vonsild School in Denmark. Mr. Stefan Nielsen and his students will use their class blog as a means of communicating with Mrs. Anderson's students. Students in NJ will post video clips on our Vimeo channel that will serve as a tool that will assist Danish students with improving conversational English. These two classes of students will share regional facts as well as their culture and language. They will take virtual field trips across two continents. Skype will provide an additional mode of communicating in real time that will prove to be invaluable. Mr. Nielsen has worked extensively on international projects in New Zealand, China, Europe and the USA. He lends an enlightened perspective to the Global Points of View initiative. He is an educator who lived in Bangladesh for several years while his parents completed work related to a leprosy project.

The social action project entitled "Violence Awareness in Our Own Words" was the focal point of a meeting of the Paterson Public Safety Coalition that convened at the Mayor's office in Paterson, NJ on January 25, 2011. Carlene was successful in organizing the Mayor, Municipal Council Members, Paterson Public School Superintendent and School Board President, County Sheriff, Police and Fire Chief, Congressman Pascrell's office, local clergy, Curtis Sliwa and members of the Guardian Angels, as well as her students -- who attended via Skype! Her students' stories resonated in the hearts of all who were present at the meeting. For a history of how this meeting took its shape, please read Hashim Garrett and the Violence Awareness Initiative.

Despite cost savings measures that resulted in the loss of key teaching staff (art, music and world language) as well as the school librarian, Carlene has been able to address these critical needs through a partnership with William Paterson University (WPU). WPU students have served as tutors to her 3rd graders. They’ve created a variety of lessons, including: music, archeology, art, world languages, and social action. Using Skype, these learning opportunities have been shared with colleagues across America and around the world. Carlene and her students are expanding their global point of view through digital citizenship. The educators and students with whom they have collaborated are also deriving much greater insights into the lives of inner-city students from Paterson, NJ -- the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.

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Points of View is made possible through a grant from the Garden State Partnership for Teacher Quality and the Perloff Family Foundation.