Also Father of the Year for Two Little Girls
Jack Bishop has been an educator in the Kings Park Central School District for fifteen years. A district he himself attended, he has also coached many teams for Kings Park High School as well over the years.
A track star in high school and college, Bishop still holds records at both with his collegiate alma mater being Wake Forrest University. His claim to fame was the Steeple Chase but he was an excellent runner in other categories as well. He dabbled in JV Basketball to break up the running in high school.
A humble young man, despite his athletic successes earlier in his life, he does not like to have much attention shined upon him. He’s had enough attention early in life at the hands of his twin sisters who are fourteen months his senior. His mother Judy Bishop said the three kids played beautifully together throughout their childhood. Judy is also with the district and has been the administrative assistant to the Superintendent for almost two decades.
GRANDPARENTS WHO WERE ALSO PARENTS
From the time her three kids were toddlers Judy was a single mother and her parents, also Kings Parkers were enormously involved in her children’s lives. Judy credits them with helping her to raise them; it was as if they were truly a set of parents.
“Grandpa participated when Jack was a Cub Scout, but both his grandfather and grandmother watched him run, even went to Wake Forest University to watch him run and both of them and I were there in North Carolina when he became an All American,” she continued.
Bishop is called Bish by most his students past and present. He talks a great deal about the influence his grandparents had on his life and how close he was to his late grandfather. “I could hear him yelling for me, cheering for me in the large crowd at the track meets,” said Bishop. He says his grandfather Frank Reischel was a great man.
BIG SCHOLARSHIP BRINGS THE DREAM HOME
The Bishop brood saw their grandparents daily and Judy credits her son’s many positive attributes to her parents. “He is a very kindhearted giving sensitive individual who puts everyone else’s needs above his own; I knew from the time he was a little boy that he would achieve great things,” she shared. When Bishop was in high school he promised his mother, who often worked at least two jobs, that he would work extra hard to get a scholarship so she wouldn’t have to work so hard. And that’s exactly what he did.
And off to college he went with his scholarship for track and his ambition to become an educator. “I wanted to teach to give back what I had been given in the Kings Park district, what I had been given by teachers like John Bogenshuntz and Rob Muller,” said Bishop.
He says he loves teaching and can’t imagine doing anything. Bishop teaches Social Studies at the high school and he coaches track.
NEW YORK STATE TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Jack Bishop was named New York State Teacher of the Year this year in his Kings Park district. An enormous achievement, the process begins when you are voted a finalist for your building. His Principal Lino Bracco shared his nomination letter describing the many attributes that Jack Bishop possesses and he shared the procedure as well.
“Each building in the school district formulated a committee and used the NY State “Teacher of the Year” guidelines (rubric) to determine their nominee; once the finalist for each individual building was determined, letter of recommendations were submitted by the following:
- Building Principal
- Colleague
- Student
- PFO Member
Bracco said that essentially each building picked their teacher of the year first. “From my perspective, this is the first time Kings Park participated in this state-wide recognition,” he explained.
In his recommendation letter Bracco listed a litany of positive teaching and mentoring qualities.
“His enthusiasm, his innovativeness, and his genuine concern for maintain rigor in education is exemplary. His flexibility in working with students, teachers, and the public has earned him an enviable reputation as an excellent teacher who truly cares about the Social Studies Program and the Kings Park community at large. Under his leadership as a Lead Teacher, the Social Studies Program has benefited. As the Social Studies liaison he helps to determine our year Social Studies budget, textbook adoption, technology (Smart Boards, Overhead Projectors) and updates pertaining to the New York State 9-12 Social Studies Framework. He was instrumental in sharing with his department several exemplars found in “Engageny” (Gettysburg Address) to meet the individual needs of all the children,” he wrote.
Bracco went onto say he has mastered the art of being firm but fair. However, the jury is out on how firm he is when parenting his beloved young girls Abigail 7 and Charlotte 4. Like most little girls, they have stolen their daddy’s heart. During the phone interview with him, I could hear him say softly, “girls over hear, hold on, daddy’s on the phone.” It was February break and he had them bundled up on a ski mountain. He told me proudly Abigail boards. Most seven year olds ski because it is easier (to maintain balance) but its apparent Abigail has her father’s athletic prowess. As far as Charlotte he said she was a bit young for boarding or skiing thus far but she does still give her father a bit of a run around. He says she’s an active one!
SOCIAL STUDIES AND PONY TAILS
His mother Judy said she is proud of his achievement as NYS Teacher of the year but is most proud of the father he is. “He is as good as any mother could be; he spends all of his time away from work with his daughters,” she added.
So when Jack Bishop is not lecturing about World History he’s putting barrettes in his daughters’ hair that match their outfits or he’s creating cute ponytails. The irony of this year’s New York State Teacher of the year is that he enlightens his students about the great men that have shaped the fate of the world. Meanwhile on a daily basis he helps shape the fate of many children including his two little girls with their hair perfectly done!