Audrey Schindler McDonald
English Language Arts Teacher
East Boston High School, East Boston, MA

Audrey Schindler McDonald has taught at East Boston High School since 2001. Schindler McDonald currently teaches English Language Arts, SAT Prep, and Advanced Placement Language and Composition to juniors. She has also served as a curriculum and program developer, workshop instructor, and summer program instructor at Boston University. Schindler McDonald is a grant writer, a workshop trainer, and a mentor teacher. Schindler McDonald has studied French at L’Institut d’Etudes Europeenes in Paris, France. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and French from Simmons College in Boston, MA, and a master’s degree in secondary education at The University of Massachusetts in Boston, MA.

Schindler McDonald’s teaching philosophy coincides with the promotion of self-empowerment. Schindler McDonald explains, “I want students to walk into my class each day knowing that they will be expected to push themselves to new levels and to attack each assignment with a ‘can-do’ attitude. They might not be perfect in all assignments, but they can be satisfied knowing that they tried; I reward attempts as well as final products. When my students leave my class at the end of every school year, I want them to have choices; I believe it is my job to coach and to prepare them for these choices.”

Schindler McDonald’s nominating student explains, “Ms. Audrey Schindler McDonald has allowed me and my classmates to expand our English Language Arts skills at a rapid, yet understandable pace. She teaches AP English Language Arts for juniors at East Boston High, and the AP English course can become an extremely tedious and stressful one. However, her tremendous positive attitude towards learning, her sincerity, her vast knowledge of English Language Arts, and her great sense of humor has made it feel as if a friend has been teaching us, not a teacher.”

Claes Nobel Educators of the Year
NSHSS is pleased to highlight our 2014-2015 Claes Nobel Educators of the Year, presented to ten exemplary educators who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to preparing students for success in college and in life. These ten educators are among NSHSS’s student-nominated Claes Nobel Educators of Distinction program that recognizes educators who model best practices in teaching, are a positive influence for students and peers, and who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and excellence in education, as well as community engagement. Since the inception of the Educators of Distinction program in 2004, NSHSS has recognized more than 38,000 educators worldwide.