EOB Teacher of the Year Amy Brejwo and tenth-grade student Louis Izzo.
ANSONIA — When COVID-19 forced schools to close and turned homes into virtual classrooms, teacher Amy Brejwo like so many others rose to the challenge.
More than a year after the pandemic hit, students at Emmett O’Brien Technical High School are still learning via a mix of in-person and virtual classes, but that hasn’t stopped Brejwo from making the experience as fulfilling as possible for her students.
Brejwo’s compassion and dedication to ensuring her students succeed, especially during an unprecedented year, recently landed her the school’s ‘Teacher of the Year’ honor.
Principal Laurie Lebouthillier, who called Brejwo “an amazing teacher,” made the announcement over the school’s loudspeaker system two weeks ago. Brejwo said her students began clapping and cheering, and others came running over to her classroom door to offer their congratulations.
“I was completely shocked,” Brejwo said. “There are so many talented and dedicated teachers at Emmett O’Brien. I am humbled by the honor.”
Prior to coming to EOB in 2019, Brejwo taught for 12 years at several other school districts, including Amity, Madison, Seymour and Stratford. Growing up in Ansonia and coming onboard at EOB felt like home for Brejwo, who from a young age, knew teaching was for her.
“I love when the students have that light bulb moment, when something finally clicks” she said. “It’s nice to think that you had a hand in that somehow.”
And it’s often the simple things that make Brejwo excited about coming to work every day.
“Not too long ago, I stayed after school to work with a student on some missing assignments,” she said. “We worked online together until he was caught up. Before he signed off, he simply said, ‘Mrs. Brejwo, thank you for helping me.’ It’s moments like those that make you realize why you do what you do.”
Several of Brejwo’s students weren’t surprised by her latest feat.
“Mrs. Brejwo is a great teacher that is always trying to help her students even when it’s tough,” said tenth grader Cherish Miller. “Many students in my grade are stubborn and don’t like to read or do English assignments. But Mrs. Brejwo makes her class very fun and easy to understand the English language. Mrs. Brejwo is not just a great teacher, she’s a good person, she’s easy to talk to and she is a good listener.”
Junior Elisabeth Lundequist said Brejwo always kept things interesting.
“She worked very hard to keep her classes fun while she taught us the material,” Elisabeth said. “She was even able to continue this when we went full virtual. Despite being behind a screen, her class was one that I always looked forward to when I was home.”
Alysha Cash, a tenth grader, said Brejwo, pushed her to excel at reading.
“She believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” she said. “Mrs. Brejwo goes above and beyond for her students because she wants to see us succeed. That’s something that is very rare to find in a teacher who actually cares and motivates us to do better in not only our work, but in our shops and outside of school.”
Fellow tenth grader Benjamin DelRio agreed.
“I think that Mrs. Brejwo really earned this award because she is a very helpful teacher and she will go out of her way to make every student understand what is being taught,” he said.
Samuel Borowski, an eleventh grader, had Brejwo for English last year.
“If there is one word I could use to describe her teaching methods, it’s organized,” he said. “Not only does this make the lectures and lessons easier to grasp and understand, but it also allows for a more efficient use of daily class time, which Mrs. Brejwo never seemed to waste.”
