Karen DeFranco

Karen DeFranco is a newly retired Special Education teacher based in southern New Jersey with over twenty-five years in the classroom. Her teaching experience focuses mostly on the middle school level in the in-class resource (ICR) and resource rooms teaching ELA, social studies, science, math and Spanish.

She conducts workshops throughout the state of New Jersey on Character Education and the importance of instilling a positive school environment.

She is a member of the New Jersey Social and Emotional Learning Committee where she works in conjunction with other teachers throughout the state to develop teacher strategies for social and emotional learning.

In 2016, she received the Frederick L. HIPP grant to expand the Character Education program she developed into the community through a student-based character website that is linked to the school’s website. She received the Jefferson Award in 2014 for her volunteer service with her students in the clubs she supervises.

After Mrs. DeFranco graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 1978, she spent two years teaching Junior High students on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Ganado, Arizona. This experience is where she saw that it was vital to infuse the culture of her students into the curriculum to allow their learning to be more authentic. Her students wrote and illustrated books that personalized their culture and the everyday responsibilities that they had.

From there she taught students with social, emotional and behavior issues in a regional high school in northwestern Connecticut and then to a middle school in central New Jersey. In both experiences, the approved academic curriculum was lacking in what her students needed. She started to develop curriculum to meet their social and emotional needs and through daily group discussions examine every day life skills and situations so that her students could find success in and out of the classroom. Physical Education class was a requirement but her students had difficulties there; so she and her coworkers developed a PE program that they would use through their lives. They fulfilled their PE requirements through hiking, bowling, roller skating, ice skating and archery.

After devoting twelve years to her four sons, Mrs. DeFranco returned to the classroom eighteen years ago to a middle school in Washington Township in southern New Jersey. Here she has seen that the classroom dynamics, challenges and environment have changed and it is the educator’s responsibility to address these trends.

Seven years ago, she started a Character Education program at her school that is based on a monthly character word where students listen to inspiring stories and quotes, view character videos, participate in a monthly service project and receive monthly certificate awards for demonstrating the character trait. As the character program meshed with the high academic standards, these are some of the highlights and results of this character program:

  • 8th grade peer leader students are taught a character lesson each month and then teach and mentor 6th graders
  • Teaching and reinforcing the importance of study skills so that the students are better prepared for assessments
  • School-wide door decorating to reinforce a character trait and create a positive environment for learning
  • At the end of October, the month of Respect, students and staff write about what respect means to them and a Wall of Respect is created in recognition of the months’ activities
  • In February, Random Acts of Kindness are posted all through the school and classroom doors to emphasize the power of kindness

In 2002, Mrs. DeFranco was voted the Teacher of the Year for her school. She has received several grants to support the character program in her school.

Mrs. DeFranco believes that Character Education can work in conjunction with the rigors of the standards-based curriculum. It is the responsibility of the school to stress the importance of a positive school climate so that all students will be encouraged to be their best and do their best.

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