Ms. Grolley is Educator of the Year!
Posted on 05/23/2022
Congratulations to Speech and Language Pathologist Tina Grolley for being named Galway Central School District Educator of the Year! Tina has been a distinguished member of our faculty since 1994, serving children in grades K-12 for 28 years.
Tina is a very knowledgeable and dedicated professional who is a respected member of the special education department. She has a terrific rapport with her students, families, and colleagues and will advocate for colleagues and students alike.
Ms. Grolley has been doing GREAT things with all of her students this year, and especially with students from the kindergarten life skills class. Tina has increased their language abilities by surrounding them with language and implementing a variety of creative activities for them, including sensory bins and music they can sing and dance to. Tina demonstrates and speaks about emotions with her students, describing what she is feeling in clear words and with facial expressions.
This educator of the year generously shares her time and wisdom with her peers. She often consults with colleagues and provides learning activities for students of all ages.
Tina will take part in any school-wide activity, from actively participating on committees and painting the school hallways to performing in the annual “rock the test” pep rally skit and leading the Halloween parade. If there is a microphone involved, Tina is there! Tina is the capital “T” in Team!
Our friend Tina is a leader and always positive, even in the most challenging situations. She is 100% about the student. She works endlessly and tirelessly to support her students – or any student – that needs services. She is an advocate and friend; fair and kind to all!
Tina truly listens in all her conversations and always embraces understanding and acceptance. She is kind, empathetic, dedicated, knowledgeable, respected, cooperative, supportive, energetic, friendly, funny, and an out-of-the-box thinker.
Tina regularly attends workshops or webinars to remain up-to-date with current practices in her field. She recently completed a Play Therapy Course online that was about 13 hours long.
She has been a mentor teacher on numerous occasions, and has also informally mentored other speech therapists who have worked in our building.
As far as leadership positions go, Tina has been on almost every school committee throughout her career at Galway CSD including:
GTA Educator of the Year Co-Chairperson
GTA Scholarship Committee
GTA Building Representative
Active GTA member
Sunshine
Scheduling
Faculty Liaison
CSE Committee
Pep Rally Committee
Joseph Henry Committee
Kindergarten Screening
IST
Data Meetings
Special Education Department Head
She also belongs to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
On a personal level, Tina is committed to a life of service, family and fun. She is a devout Christian who attends church and volunteers on a regular basis. She tirelessly and selflessly takes care of her mother, with whom she is very close. She loves to read, go to the beach, and cheer on the Yankees. Tina loves spending time with her daughter, Gabby, as well as her partner, John, (especially with a margarita on the beach).
Here are just a few testimonials from her colleagues ~
“All of my students enjoy and look forward to going to speech services. Colleagues look to her for advice for help with students’ speech and language needs, including social language skills.”
“Tina is extremely animated, which engages her students immensely!”
“Tina uses every moment she is with a child as a teachable moment. She even teaches in the hallway while walking them to and from her room!”
“She encourages good manners, not letting any child get away with not returning a greeting! ("When someone says 'Good Morning', what do you say back?")”
“I am right next door to her classroom and I love listening to her sing and get excited with her students!”
“Tina is the most knowledgeable speech therapist I've ever met. She knows her specialty inside and out. She is an advocate for all Galway students. She is patient, kind, and fully invested in her role here. Tina has also been known to help teachers with their own kid's speech concerns.”
And finally…
“It is Time For Tina!!!!!!!”
Congratulations to Ms. Tina Grolley, 2022 Galway Educator of the Year!
