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Lifetime Achievement Award-Sherry Froman

A St. Luke’s Institution
Shaping first-graders at West Village school for 27 years

A college professor once told Sherry Froman that the only teaching lesson she needed to know was “take your cues from the child.” Froman says she’s never forgotten that principle and has made it the foundation of her 35 years of teaching.

For the past 27 years, Froman has been a first grade teacher at St. Luke’s School, a small K to 8 Episcopal day school in the West Village.

Growing up, Froman debated between becoming a dancer or a teacher. “I wouldn’t have lasted very long in dance,” she jokes. One of her role models was an aunt who was a fifth grade teacher in New Jersey.

In her classes, Froman says her goal has always been for her students to be the best that they can be. To that end, she focuses on helping them develop a strong sense of self worth and compassion for others. “My philosophy is to teach the whole child,” she said, “not just the academics. If teachers do this we can hope for a better world.”

Among her colleagues, Froman is known for having developed a deep core of experience throughout her many years in the classroom. “She knows the ins and the outs of a six-year-old better than anyone,” said Jackie Stephenson, the Lower School Head.

One of the missions at St. Luke’s is to stimulate learning through interdisciplinary teaching. And a recurring theme in Froman’s lessons is to bring together art, architecture and history so that students can get hands-on experience.

This year, students made model houses based on their heritage. The goal, Froman said, was to make students proud about their own culture and respectful of others. The project took about a month, with students working with a parent to build two-foot by two-foot models. They will be on display at the Center for Architecture on La Guardia Place.

Another year, for a unit on the history of Greenwich Village, students made models of the landmarked buildings on Christopher Street. The models served as the scenery and focus of a musical the class put on, “Christopher Street.” Two parents worked with the students to write it, and Froman served as director.

Froman says she tries to involve parents whenever possible. “Knowing them helps me to be a better teacher for their children,” she says.

For their part, parents describe Froman as exciting and committed as a teaching newcomer. Whereas some teachers get burned out after decades on the job, parents say that’s not the case with Froman, and that she obviously loves what she’s doing and the children she’s doing it for.

And to the kids, Froman is unforgettable. “They all come back to visit,” she says.

— Courtney McLeod