E D U C AT I O N
WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
We all have one: The teacher we’ll never forget, the one
who gave us confidence in ourselves, got us to see the
world in a different way, or just helped us get it.
There are many educators in Montclair schools
who’ve done that, and more, for their students;
in these pages, we shine a spotlight on six of them.
SALLYANN
HOWELL-REMBERT
ENGLISH AND WRITING TEACHER,
MONTCLAIR HIGH SCHOOL
DIRECT QUOTE:
“Ms. Rembert taught me
how to closely analyze a
text, take good notes,
be a better thinker
and understand kindness.
I’m a Goucher College
student, and honestly,
I might not even be here
if it weren’t for her.”
PAST TENSE: Before teaching at MHS,
SallyAnn Howell-Rembert worked in publishing, acting, improv and as an agent to young
commercial actors. She taught English as a
course requirement toward getting a Master
of Arts degree at Brooklyn College, prompting her professor to note, “This comes really
naturally for you.” She was an instructor at an
alternative school and the Acorn High
School for Social Justice in New York City,
later managed the MHS Writers’ Room, then
38
moved into classroom instruction there.
PRESENT TENSE: Rembert teaches a
combination of AP Language, English
Honors and High Honors, Creative Writing
and a class called Read Write Think.
MAJOR THEMES: “If you want to be a
better writer, you need to read really good
writers to see how they do it,” she says. “To
find your voice, spend a lot of time writing,
reading others and having conversations
with other writers. Write towards meaning;
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE BACK TO SCHOOL 2016
if you don’t know what you’re trying to say,
you can’t communicate clearly.”
FOR EXAMPLE: As part of an exam, the
students wrote letters on subjects that
made their blood boil. One girl wrote
about how she was bilingual, and how it
felt not to be able to communicate in her
native tongue. She said that writing the
essay was cathartic, because she felt like
she didn’t have a voice, and it helped her
understand herself and the world.
CHALKBOARD ART: THINKSTOCK
OLIVIA DAWSON