You walk into her classroom, and she greets you with a bright smile. Balancing grading multiple essays and teaching classes, she still manages to prioritize her students needs and struggles. Ms Mangano, iSchool’s newest English teacher, has been teaching for just about a decade and recently joined the iSchool in 2015.

Ms. Mangano wakes up at the crack of dawn in order to make the long journey from New Jersey to Manhattan. She makes the effort to get to school early so she can get her morning coffee at Starbucks (they know her by name).

You can tell just by her attitude that she is meant to be an English teacher. When other young children were playing with Barbies, Ms. Mangano was playing teacher and student with her stuffed animals. She states, “I always knew I wanted to be an English teacher. I would plan a lesson for my stuffed animals and teach them.”

One fact about Ms. Mangano is that she adores Agatha Christie novels. She did well in sixth grade, earning extra points because she knew all of the Agatha Christie stories. She also found interest in watching the Hercule Poirot series on PBS with her grandpa when she was younger.

Ms. Mangano believes writing is not just beneficial towards her. “Writing is so essential and beneficial towards students,” she said.

Ms. Mangano enjoys her free time spent with her husband, who she has been married to for 2 years. She also spends time with some of her very close friends.

From a student’s perspective, you can tell that Ms. Mangano is thoughtful and friendly. “She’s really personable and easy to talk to. She also prioritizes my needs,” iSchool senior Ben Reggio mentions.

One of Ms. Mangano’s many positive traits is that she appreciates and takes notice of good work, and she will help you when you are struggling.

“When I had her class she graded well and when anyone did excellent work she recognized that, she’s a great teacher to work with,” said junior Shane Hemphill.

As a teacher, Ms. Mangano is very committed to her students. She tried to find ways to improve her teaching skills for the benefit of her students. Over the years, she has incorporated technology into her lessons.

“I use data to further push my instruction so I can see if students are struggling, and then I can help them,” she said.

Ms. Mangano teaches the iNews module, iNews club, Analytical Writing, Modernism and Shakespeare.

Not only does Ms. Mangano care about her students and husband, but she cares about her parents. Her mother is a big fan of the iNews website, too!