Truly loving making a difference!

1.  From: Supt Runcie February 10, 2014 3:50:02 PM
Subject: Re:
Outstanding teacher M
rs. Amy DeCelleTo: Lisa Bentley
<teva4lee@bellsouth.net>
Cc: Danielle L. Austin Colette Azael
Erik L. Anderson Amy M
. DecelleM
s. Bentley,It is always a pleasure to
receive a letter such as yours, filled with glowing praise for M
s. DeCelle at
Tropical Elementary. I will be printing this for M
r. Runcie's mail folder, and I
would like to share this with some other Administrative staff members as well.It
is wonderful to hear that your children are thriving due to the efforts of this
truly dedicated teacher at your school.Thank you so very much for sharing your
thoughts on M
s. DeCelle, and I wish your children a bright academic future.Ellen
TolsonOffice of the Superintendent754-321-2600Under Florida law, e-mail
addresses are public record. Your e-mail address and the contents of any e-mail
sent to the sender of this communication will be released in response to any
request for public records except as excluded by F.S. 119.071, 1002.22(3)(d)
[student records], or any other law of the State of Florida. If you do not want
your e-mail address to be released as part of any public records request, do not
send e-mail to this address, rather contact this office by phone or in writing.
Lisa Bentley <teva4lee@bellsouth.net>
on January 28, 2014 at 5:03 PM
-0500
wrote: I am writing this letter to you to let you know about my son s
wonderful teacher M
rs. Amy DeCelle. I have known M
rs. DeCelle for over 7 years,
she was my son Travis Bentley s first grade teacher and now she is my son Eric
Bentley s second grade teacher. I have seen her make an impact on not only my
sons but on so many other students in and out of her class. She has helped my
sons to have drive and motivation for learning that has made such an impact on
me that I had to write this letter to let you know what an amazing teacher M
rs.
DeCelle is. I volunteer in M
rs.DeCelle s class on a weekly basis and the
projects and skills she is teaching these students are at a middle school level.
The children are doing power point presentations in class, learning and writing
a book. They are so excited about learning that they love doing research and
enjoy looking up information in a dictionary. It is so rare to see a teacher
have such an impact on so many students  lives. She teaches them skills that
will impact them as lifelong learners.She has taught them about acts of kindness
at Thanksgiving time. The entire class cleaned all the garbage around the school
and gave up their recess time to do this wonderful act. M
rs.Decelle incorporated
Thanksgiving as a time to show your thankfulness by making an impact on the
world around you. It is not just the big acts of kindness but seeing the
students relate the acts of kindness to their everyday lives, from saying kind
words to one another, to growing their hair to donate it to an organization for
cancer. To the students making New Year resolutions and placing it on their desk
so they are able to reflect on it the entire year as it should be. M
rs. Decelle
is not only teaching the children the curriculum but she is also facilitating
projects to produce empathetic successful citizens. Her lessons are ongoing and
students are constantly applying their knowledge to many elements students have
difficulty with, for example prefix and suffix. She has ongoing games which the
students using prefix and suffix in everyday life and then they break it apart
to tell the meaning. For example  paperless  and they know it means without
paper. I have seen a child that was reading at kindergarten level that was
promoted to second grade and is now reading at third grade 6th month level. To
seeing my son Eric Bentley who would be so nervous to come to school every day
in first grade that his stomach would hurt. To now seeing my son in second grade
love learning and excited about going to school. His level of reading has jumped
from average when he started M
rs. Decelle s class to a fourth grade 9month
level in just 5months.At the very beginning of second grade M
rs. DeCelle asked
the parents to fill out a survey about the students cognitive, social and
emotional traits, and about what traits the parents are proud of and what areas
they would like to see them improve on. Everything that I wanted to see my son
improve on has exceeded my expectations. M
y son has come out of his shell, where
at one point his kindergarten teacher was telling me he maybe on the autistic
spectrum like his older brother Austin Bentley is. Now he is having normal
social interactions, expressing himself independently and thriving socially. He
has become a leader and not a follower, he has become more independent and has
confidence in himself and no longer avoids eye contact.M
rs. DeCelle makes
learning fun and is the most effective teacher who is passionate about learning
and has such an impact on students in the class and outside the class. Being a

2. volunteer at Tropical Elementary for over 9 years and knowing Mrs. DeCelle for
over 7 years, I can tell you that she has not only impacted the success of my
children but is a reflection on Tropical Elementary and Broward County Schools.
 Sincerely,Lisa Bentley