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Anthony Stirpe, a scriptwriting and film literacy teacher in the English Language Arts Department at the high school, has been awarded this year’s Pioneer Award, which celebrates educators that make innovative uses of technology for students.
Each year, the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center (LHRIC) and BOCES present Pioneer Awards to a school district, teacher and director of technology after a lengthy application process.
Stirpe has made the most with what he’s been given, utilizing everyday digital devices such as iPhones and iPads to show his students that they don’t need expensive equipment to make viable projects. He’s worked tirelessly to perfect his craft, going so far as to visit professors at the International Film School in New York to educate himself further on how to best utilize the basic technology.
This year, Stirpe’s students wrote nearly 30 scripts, with the most popular five turned into three-minute shorts that were filmed, edited and uploaded to the Internet using what Stirpe has referred to as “accessible technology.”
“Learning to make a movie is about more than just storytelling,” he said. “Of course storytelling is part of the process, but it is also about collaboration, it is project management, and it is about helping one person to see the world through the eyes of another.”
In addition to his exhaustive work with students, Stirpe has also communicated weekly with parents through his “StirpE-Blast,” letting them know about their children’s progress and how they can support education outside the classroom.
“Free periods are a thing of the past for this teacher, but he doesn’t seem to mind,” BOCES officials stated in a joint release celebrating Stirpe’s accomplishments. “There was a time when he would have been happy to lock his door to grade papers in silence, but these days, eager students fill Mr. Stirpe’s classroom, looking to edit their work and excited to discuss their projects with him.”
“From running an after school film club to arranging a number of free master classes and seminars through Sarah Lawrence College and New York Monologue Coaching, as well as inviting his contacts from the Broadway community to work with acting and choral students, Mr. Stirpe has truly dedicated himself to the welfare of his students and to the New Rochelle High School community.”
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