TEACHER SPOTLIGHT
NOT A STAND BEHIND THE PODIUM KIND OF TEACHER
By JP Feighery ’ 03
“ But did he give you the book ?!” Teresa DiVita-Geremia asked Patty Simeone over the phone after Patty ’ s five interviews at the Prep . She left that day unsure if any of the interviews had gone her way , particularly the last one with outgoing Prep President Father Edward Maloney , SJ . But her friend cut right to the chase with her question , and Patty looked over at the book on Jesuit education sitting on her kitchen table . “ He did ,” she said . Excited , Teresa ’ s reply came back : “ That ’ s it , you ’ re hired !”
Sure enough , the next day Dr . Trish Morris called and offered Patty a job in the Prep ’ s Modern Languages Department .
Now having completed her 25th year , Mrs . “ Sim ” to any Prep student who knows her , has gotten calls over the years from public schools looking for Italian language teachers , but she ’ s never even sat for an interview . This has surprised many public school teachers she has spoken to , but as anyone who enters her classroom can tell , Mrs . Simeone is content , comfortable , and considers her job at the Prep a vocation . She loves the service aspects incorporated into student life , finds cura personalis to be fundamental to the mission of teaching , and has sent her own two sons to the Prep ( Classes of 2012 and 2015 ), knowing they too would experience all the things she loves about Rose Hill for themselves .
And she does love Fordham Prep and loves her Rams , past and present . She doesn ’ t mind if it seems sappy because it ’ s true . Every student who knows her , knows that too . Alumni often ask about her ; she says the secret to being such a student favorite is simple : “ I like them , and they know that , and it ’ s sincere .” She respects her students for who they are and knows her students are smart enough to know when a teacher loves what they do .
Her room is a testament to her students ’ love for her . Decorated with memorabilia , hummels , signs , posters , and an Italian National Team jersey , with dates on the bottom , the back , or in the corner stretching back over her 25 years here . They are from her students , a few of them now colleagues , like Science Department Chair Dr . Anthony DiFato ’ 99 and school principal , Dr . Joseph Petriello ’ 98 . Her room is Fordham Prep as much as any place . It ’ s a sense of place and what makes it a second home to many alumni . Students who might otherwise scribble their name on a desk or leave their mark on a wall instead choose to leave Mrs . Simeone a gift ; something of themselves behind in the little room in the back of the second floor where their time at Fordham was so well spent .
Part of Mrs . “ Sim ’ s ” respect for students means being their advocate . She has been chairing the Student Life Committee for 20 years now , interacting with students outside of the classroom and in that way , she helps the entire student body . They can go to her and know their concerns will be brought to the school administration ’ s attention . Student Life tackles everything major or minor ; at its core , it is a group of faculty and administrators attempting to take the pulse of the students . Patty quickly realized that having students on the committee was essential to its success . Student leaders are picked by the faculty to join the committee , which has become a student-led advocacy group with the committee ’ s co-chair seat always filled by a student . Simeone loves that the students know and feel they have a voice , a spirit encouraged by Dr . Petriello , who goes to the committee for input on certain student-life decisions , most recently feedback on the new schedule .
Proud of her participation in Student Life , she sees the committee ’ s current status as a student-driven organization the school ’ s administration takes seriously and works with to make student life at Fordham Prep better is maybe the biggest accomplishment of her time at the Prep .
While it is important to her that her students learn the Italian language , the country , and pick up some sense of worldliness that comes with learning about other cultures , it ’ s more than that . As she tells her son Alex ’ 12 , who is currently getting his Masters degree in education , being a teacher means helping students become good people , helping them learn to treat each other well . If they take something other than the language from her class , she hopes her students leave room 221 with pride in their background and the things that make them who they are .
SUMMER 2021 13