Freeport educator honored

Joshua Levitt of Freeport High School School has been named a “Distinguished Teacher of 2022” by the Harvard Club of Long Island.

Levitt, 40, who lives with his wife and two children in Baldwin, will be honored at a virtual awards ceremony on April 2, along with seven other teachers from across Long Island.

“Dedicated teachers like Mr. Levitt inspire Long Island students to excel, to become passionate about learning, and to recognize the value of hard work,” Dr. Judith Esterquest, chair of the Distinguished Teacher Selection Committee, stated in a news release.    

Levitt has taught Adanced Placement Government and AP U.S. History at Freeport High since 2006 and has served as chairman of the Social Studies Department for the past five years. As the student government faculty adviser, he oversees the monthly addresses to the Freeport Board of Education, elections of class officers and the students leadership on many community initiatives.

Under Levitt’s guidance, the Freeport High School student government has been featured in Newsday four times for its charitable efforts, and its “Breaking Borders Program” with Syosset High School was featured in a Newsday article. Students also created a program that helped Freeport residents make more than 2,000 Covid vaccination appointments, which garnered them Hopnor Roll recognition.

In class with Josh Levitt

Levitt’s multifaceted approach to teaching U.S. history and government draws in students of all learning styles. He incorporates books, documents, maps, images, and videos in fast-moving PowerPoint presentations. He even encourages drawing and sculpting.

“I had a kid who struggled with the topic of the Progressive Era, but was great at cartooning, so—Standard Oil!” said Levitt, lifting up a riveting drawing of a giant green octopus gobbling buildings. The octopus was indeed labeled “Standard Oil,” commemorating the huge corporation that was deemed an illegal monopoly by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1911.

Mondays and Tuesdays, the students usually sit in neat rows taking notes on Levitt’s multimedia lectures. Wednesdays, they practice things such as document usage and primary source research. Thursdays, they haul the desks screeching across the floor into a circular formation — a “Socratic circle kind of thing,” as Levitt calls it — and exchange rapid-fire questions and answers, interspersed with Levitt striding to his desk to throw relevant material onto the broad smartboard, while students swiftly search their electronic devices to find facts.

Levitt’s untiring nose for projects and grants keeps his students learning in and out of the classroom, though he credits others for the opportunities he draws in.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “I met some people who got us passes to go see the State of the State address multiple times in Albany. I got to take the kids to the electoral college certification vote — what an experience, going to Albany and seeing all those politicians voting on things that we learn about in my class! I won a grant and took 120 kids to see ‘Hamilton’ on Broadway at no cost to them. I’ve been very lucky. People have been kind.”

What the students say

Levitt briskly greets his students as they come in, leaving them smiling while they settle into their desks.

“The class is fun,” said Dorian Trotman, 16. “Mr. Levitt makes sure it’s always interactive. He makes sure even the quietest kids are always talking in the class, keeping up to date. He always makes sure how you’re feeling, makes sure you’re okay, so whatever he’s teaching we’re all paying attention and we get what we need to know.”

Gabrielle Demosthenes, also 16, agreed. “I think the class is very engaging,” she said, “and I like how it’s interactive. Even the most boring topic can be fun because Mr. Levitt makes it fun.”

Shyanne Gardner, who was Freeport’s 2020 valedictorian, said in a statement to the Harvard Club of Long Island that Levitt was continually “helping to coordinate student projects that taught us the importance of being engaged members of our community, to feel empowered in our ability to change the world,” and that he “always fights for his students and their wishes, helping us advocate for changes we want to see within our school.”

Gardner took Levitt’s AP history class and was also under his guidance while she was active in student government at Freeport High School. She is a first-year student at Harvard University and nominated Levitt for the “Distinguished Teacher of 2022” award.

At the virtual ceremony on April 2, in addition to the Distinguished Teacher recognition, the Harvard Club of Long Island will announce which of the eight honorees will also receive a scholarship for a “Harvard experience” at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, MA. The scholarships are funded by contributions from Harvard alumni living on Long Island.

Dr. Kishore Kuncham, superintendent of Freeport Public Schools, said of Levitt, “Josh puts in every effort … encouraging the students of Freeport to become engaged in the community around them and to facilitate their growth as competent, global citizens.”

The award ceremony seemed to be distant from Levitt’s mind as he launched into a discussion after class about keeping students on track during the class period.

“There’ll be a moment when you feel the students’ energy flag,” he said. “Then it’s time to switch it up, go back to the maps, ask a new question. If you’re passionate about it, the material comes across. And the kids are really great.”