It’s not always the flashiest everyday folks that are making a difference in our communities.  Teachers across the nation are leading the way!

It took Glen Pandolfino a few years to find his true calling as a high school teacher.

“I really can’t imagine doing anything else,” said Pandolfino, 46, who has spent the last 12 years teaching at the High School for Environmental Studies in Hell’s Kitchen.

“Every day is different. It’s never boring.”Pandolfino teaches global history and U.S. history as well as a macro and micro economics Advanced Placement class.His students compete with other schools in a virtual stock market game in which they buy stocks and bonds and learn to diversify a portfolio.

But Pandolfino’s colleagues say it’s his compassion for students and their needs that sets him apart. He saves seats in his classes for special-education students. And when the school library was set to close because there was no one to staff it, he moved his classes there so it could remain open for all students.“

Mr. Pandolfino is an excellent teacher, but it is more than that,” said his colleague and school guidance counselor Jody Wurzel. “You could have a million degrees, teach every AP course, but if you don’t have a heart, you aren’t reaching the kids. And he reaches them.”

Source: Hell’s Kitchen teacher’s compassion for students stands out – NY Daily News