100 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine EDUCATION RENEE DANETTE PETROLA TEACHER (RETIRED), AUTHOR Mount Sinai School District Mount Sinai, NY Renee Danette Petrola was inspired to enter the realm of education from a young age. Having been influenced by her mother, Phyllis Petrola, who was an elementary school teacher, Ms. Petrola also harnesses a background in babysitting. As such, the amalgamation of her mother’s profession and her experiences with children cultivated a desire to pursue education as a career path. Ms. Petrola first attended Bethany College, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and teaching in 1970. Following this accomplishment, she attended Stony Brook University and earned a Master of Arts in liberal studies in 1974. Additionally, Ms. Petrola completed 100 credits’ worth of postgraduate coursework. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Ms. Petrola pursued vocational work as a teacher. She was hired by the Mount Sinai School District in New York in 1970, where she successfully served as a sixth grade writing teacher until her retirement in 2013. Drawing upon more than 40 years of expertise in academia, including reading and writing, Ms. Petrola has been notable for her participation in the Walt Whitman Poetry Contest, through which her sixth grade students earned first placement for two consecutive years for anthology. Alongside this accomplishment, she accompanied the school principal to Washington, D.C., where they earned the Blue Ribbon Award. The Blue Ribbon Award is provided to schools that have excellent standings in high academic performance through the United States Department of Education. To this end, teachers at the Mount Sinai School District had a brick installed in the Walt Whitman Walkway. Among the many achievements throughout her career, Ms. Petrola is also recognized as among four pioneering teachers who worked in an outdoor learning laboratory alongside fifth grade students, whereupon they studied the impact of humankind on the environment. To remain abreast of developments in her field, Ms. Petrola has maintained affiliation with the National Education Association, the Mount Sinai Teachers Association and the American Federation of Teachers.
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