Queens middle school teacher Laeticia Charles offers a sense of emotional connection and safety to the students she teaches in her second year at MS 137, elevating her students' academics in the process.

Third-year special education teacher Britni Maddocks takes a strengths-based approach to assessing her students’ needs in her NEST classroom at PS 59 on Staten Island to help build students’ confidence and assure them that the classroom is a safe, supportive space.

Jermaine Coley's warm, hands-on approach has made the second-year school counselor a respected and beloved figure at PS 284 in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

Chanisse Wade, a second-year social worker at Bronx Legacy HS in Mott Haven, strives to create a "culture of celebration" at her school. She publicly celebrates all student achievements, large or small — from high grades to good attendance to improvements in peer-to-peer behavior.

Will Dulin, a third-year teacher at Pathways to Graduation in Jamaica, Queens, takes pains to truly see his CTE students, helping them to forge pathways to educational success even when they can't quite envision them themselves.