Harvard Club Honors GCHS Teacher

Carlo Rebolini

Mr. Carlo Rebolini of Garden City High School has been named "Distinguished Teacher of 2007" by the Harvard Club of Long Island.

One of about a dozen teachers from across Long Island to receive this award - for which a hundred were nominated - Mr. Rebolini will receive his award at the Harvard Club's University Relations Lunch on April 14th. Following the award ceremony, Dr. Harry Lewis, a Harvard professor for more than thirty years, the Dean of Harvard College for eight years, and the author of Excellence Without a Soul, will speak about our country's great research institutions and their critical role in our democracy.

"Each year the Harvard Club is delighted to recognize teachers who transform lives," explained Dr. Judith Esterquest, a board member of the Long Island Club. "These teachers expend uncounted hours and extraordinary energy capturing the minds and imaginations of our children, preparing them for challenges that were unknown even a few decades ago - academic, social, political, cultural. These teachers shape our country's future."

Carlo Rebolini holds a Master of Arts in English literature from Columbia University and has taught in urban or suburban settings for 25 years, both in private and public schools. He began teaching at Garden City High School in 1994. Three years later he moved out of state to teach in a performing arts high school. In 2000, he returned to Garden City, where he currently teaches Advanced Placement Literature and Composition, Advanced Placement Language and Composition, and English 10 Honors. Mr. Rebolini also advises The Garden City Literary Circle, which sponsors four poetry readings annually.

Mr. Rebolini has received two National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar grants for specialized study at Columbia University: one in 1991 to study Islamic Religion and Literature; the other in 1994 to study the life and work of Hermann Melville. He was named a New York State English Council Teacher of Excellence in 1991, has been nominated for and received multiple teacher recognition awards from the University of Chicago and Dartmouth College, and in 2007 received an outstanding high school teacher award from Boston College. Mr. Rebolini also has been featured in Who's Who of American Teachers.

Outside of the classroom, Mr. Rebolini is an avid cyclist. In August, he and Garden City High School Physical Education Teacher Mike Heedles plan to participate in the Trans Rockies bicycle race, a six-day, 386-mile trek across the Canadian Rockies. They are committed to raising at least $10,000 for two local Garden City charities, the Mollie Biggane Foundation and the Miracle Foundation. Mr. Rebolini taught Mollie Biggane and her brother John. Mollie graduated from Garden City High School in 1998 and succumbed to skin cancer at age 20.

Nominated by a Conor O'Brien, a graduate of Garden City High School who now attends Harvard College, Mr. Rebolini was described as "one of the greatest people I have ever come across, and I cannot thank him enough." Mr. O'Brien, now a sophomore Harvard, says, "I cannot possibly thank Mr. Rebolini enough for everything he has done for me throughout high school. I learned so much from him, not only about literature and writing, but more importantly about life. Mr. Rebolini was so enthusiastic about everything he taught that it was impossible for us not to become interested in it."

"His class was a joy to attend every single day," continued Mr. O'Brien, "I would not be at Harvard without the guidance of Mr. Rebolini. I wish every student could work with Mr. Rebolini, because he truly did make a difference in my life and my education."

At the April 14th ceremony the HCLI will announce the two Distinguished Teachers who will also be named Harvard Club Fellows. These two Fellows will receive scholarships to a Harvard Graduate School of Education short program on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, MA. The scholarships are funded by individual contributions from Harvard alumni living on Long Island. "These teachers raise the aspirations of our youth and then help them accomplish dreams. We are proud to honor them," commented Dorothy Oehmler, President of the Harvard Club, who served on the selection committee.

When Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Robert Feirsen, learned of this award, he immediately noted that "Mr. Rebolini is that rare individual who demonstrates all the attributes of an extraordinary teacher: a strong understanding of his subject, mastery of pedagogy, a clear commitment to the school community, a passion for his work and, above all, a deep and abiding commitment to helping every student with whom he has contact."

"Carlo Rebolini raises the bar for all of us," Dr. Feirsen continued, "and his impact on our school district and our students is profound."

The dozen winners of the 2007 Distinguished Teacher Award were nominated by current Harvard students and then selected by members of the Harvard Club of Long Island. Some teach AP Literature, calculus, or advanced science research, others teach history, political science, economics, Latin, Greek, or Spanish. A few teach at schools that send two or more students to Harvard every year; some teach at schools that have sent only a couple in twenty years. The 2007 winners teach 7th to 12th grades in Suffolk and Nassau Counties, the length and breath of the Island: Baldwin, Garden City, Huntington, Miller Place, Northport, North Shore, Port Washington, Three Villages, West Babylon, West Islip, and Westhampton Beach.

"Over the past twenty years, Harvard has accepted students from more than two-thirds of the approximately 120 school districts on Long Island," said Carolyn Hughes, who chairs the HCLI Schools & Scholarships Committee, which ensures every Long Island applicant to Harvard gets a personal alumni interview. "In the past five years, Harvard has accepted students from more than half of these districts. Because of this reach, we decided to have current Harvard undergraduates nominate the Long Island teachers who had the greatest effect on their lives and the lives of their fellow students." The Harvard Club of Long Island website is www.harvardclubli.com.