Congratulations to Ms. Wallace, the new Assistant Principal of FDR’s Social Studies Department! Before becoming part of the FDR Cougar family, she was a Peer Collaborative Teacher, the UFT Teachers Center Site Coach, as well as the director of various learning communities at John Adams High School in Queens. While she worked alongside administrators, guidance counselors, deans, students, and their families, working with teachers with a focus on helping elevate the learning experiences of students at John Adams was her primary focus most recently.  FDR is lucky to have her extensive experience here in Cougar Country, as her past roles have placed her in an excellent position to lead the Social Studies Department! Ms. Wallace loves the diversity, the different cultural representations, and the passionate teachers here at FDR. She would describe herself as positive, hardworking, and determined. She believes these qualities are crucial in her daily life.   

As the new AP of Social Studies, Ms. Wallace’s biggest adjustments have been trying to get used to a new building, filled with new people, and ‘learning the ways of FDR.’ She mentioned that she loves being in a classroom with students; making connections, learning about practices here and getting to know them. She is hoping she can take on teaching a class next year. As of right now, she is enjoying assisting teachers with how to help their students and designing lesson plans focused on student discussion. She wants to help teachers enhance learning for all their students by offering strategies, increasing engagement, and promoting critical thinking skills. She believes students will learn more, and be more engaged, by having critical thinking tasks for them to engage with while in class. Ms. Wallace emphasizes that these skills will help students retain information with a deeper understanding of the topic. Her ideal classroom environment would be interactive, with students working together to develop a love and passion for topics and places that are discussed in History classes. Her previous 17 plus years of knowledge, and experience with teaching proper methods, will create a beneficial environment for all the students here at FDR.

Ms. Wallace’s goals for increasing achievement in the Social Studies Department are targeted at ensuring that more students receive the Seal of Civic Readiness. The Seal is a formal recognition that a student has demonstrated the civic knowledge, skills, mindsets, and experiences necessary to become an actively engaged citizen.  If more students have the Seal of Civic Readiness, it will indicate that they have taken the classes, and completed projects needed to enhance their understanding of the world around them and actively take part in their communities while in High School and beyond.  

Ms. Wallace does have some advice she would like to share with the FDR student community, “Dream big, work hard, and make it happen!” She believes it’s important to set goals, have dreams, and let them drive you! She has always personally had dreams, and she believes in making them happen, even if they are small. 

We welcome Ms. Wallace as the newly Assistant Principal of Social Studies! She has quickly become a valued member of our Cougar community! We really appreciate her dedication to our students, the Social Studies Department, and larger school community.