Brooklyn Educator Wins Citywide Teaching Excellence Award

BROOKLYN, NY — At first, the young women's empowerment circle started by Persephone DaCosta, a dance and leadership teacher in Brooklyn, was just a club.

High school students at Khalil Gibran International Academy would gather in a Boerum Hill classroom after school and talk about sisterhood and leadership as part of the ROSE Circle (short for Respectful Outstanding Sisters of Excellence).

Over time, though, DaCosta noticed the program's positive impact on her students: they were showing up to more classes, getting better grades and behaving better.

Inspired by their progress, DaCosta turned ROSE into an academic class focused on leadership and mentorship, where students plan school-wide events, visit college campuses and learn about mental wellness.

The enterprising program is one of many accomplishments for which DaCosta was awarded the FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence, a prize granted to one teacher in each of the five boroughs.

As Brooklyn's grand prize winner, DaCosta will receive $25,000 and Khalil Gibran International Academy will receive a $10,000 grant for oft-underfunded arts education initiatives — money DaCosta would like to see used to renovate the sparsely-equipped dance studio, where she also teaches.

Dance provided her students an outlet for self-expression during the pandemic, DaCosta said, and she hopes to see the program expanded. Her dream is to bring in more teaching artists and establish a Community Dance Performance Troupe.

"I love that the school and myself are both awarded funding because there is so much more to do," DaCosta said in a news statement.

"If we can't pour anything into ourselves we get depleted and can't give as much to others. My goal is to make me better, to go into the next school year reenergized and ready to pour all that I can into our students."

The extra funding comes as schools brace for $215 million in budget cuts going into next year.

Glenn Fuhrman, co-founder of The FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence, said he hopes the award honors the "phenomenal effort" public school teachers give to their students.

"Public school teachers are among the most important pillars of our communities," he said.

"They make sacrifices year-round to educate and mold our children into the next generation of productive members of society. It is an honor to recognize these individuals."

Having just finished its third year, the FLAG award received close to 1,000 teacher nominations from students, parents, principals and fellow teachers.

The grand prize winners and finalists were selected by an independent jury made up of education, community, and philanthropic leaders.