Virginia R. Baltay
Virginia R. Baltay, a native of New York, graduated from the State University of New York/ Albany as a Regents Scholar with a major in chemistry/biology and a minor in English. She was awarded a Master of Arts from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, her thesis examining TS Eliot and Education. Subsequently, she completed her fifth year degree at Southern Connecticut State University as a science specialist with additional graduate work in biology and journalism at Wesleyan.
Ginny began teaching in New York immediately after her undergraduate degree, but her academic and teaching careers were put on hold following her marriage and the arrival of four sons in quick succession, followed by the birth of her daughter. In 1974, she returned to teaching at the Bell School in Chapataqua, NY, where she had the joy of teaching one of her sons.
Taking an early retirement in New York she and her family moved to Guilford, CT. She was hired at Walsh Intermediate School in Branford in 1992 to teach 7th grade science. For the next fifteen years she enhanced the science curriculum by challenging her students with hands-on activities, team building events, digital photography and computer graphing. In 1999, she was awarded a Toyota grant from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to establish a project for students to study the invasive Asian shore crab on Outer Island. This began the environmental program called "Crabs Count" with which she continues to be involved. In addition, she has been awarded the following grants to Friends of Outer Island and the Walsh Intermediate School: Capacity Building Grant, Birding Grant, Long Island Sound Futures Fund, Nature of Learning Grant, Excellence in Education and ATT Technology Grant.
While teaching, Ginny was involved in local and national organizations and continues to donate her time, energy and talents. She has served in the following organizations: vice president of Friends of Outer Island, curriculum writer and teacher of Girls Science Investigations through Yale University, judge/mentor for NSTA Toyota Tapestry Environmental Projects, chair of NSTA Retired Members Advisory Board, and volunteer for Phytoplankton Monitoring, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Her work with the students on the refuge has influenced the next step in her life. Currently, Ginny is coordinating a joint project between NSTA and United States Fish and Wildlife Service to enlist retired science teachers around the nation to work as volunteer educators on refuges. She believes that the program at Outer Island is a model for how refuges and retirees could shape students' understanding of conservation.
All of her professional volunteer activities are woven around raising her family. She enjoys visiting her five children from Boston to California, traveling the world with her Astrophysics husband of fifty-one years and hovering over her eleven grandchildren. She finds time to keep herself fit and stimulated by downhill skiing, boating, taking photos, cooking and writing recipes, gardening and kayaking around the Thimbles.
Ginny's contributions to educating Branford's children and giving them the opportunity to learn using hands-on activities, including exploring Outer Island, have been unique. She is a most worthy candidate for Branford's Education Hall of Fame.
Ginny began teaching in New York immediately after her undergraduate degree, but her academic and teaching careers were put on hold following her marriage and the arrival of four sons in quick succession, followed by the birth of her daughter. In 1974, she returned to teaching at the Bell School in Chapataqua, NY, where she had the joy of teaching one of her sons.
Taking an early retirement in New York she and her family moved to Guilford, CT. She was hired at Walsh Intermediate School in Branford in 1992 to teach 7th grade science. For the next fifteen years she enhanced the science curriculum by challenging her students with hands-on activities, team building events, digital photography and computer graphing. In 1999, she was awarded a Toyota grant from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to establish a project for students to study the invasive Asian shore crab on Outer Island. This began the environmental program called "Crabs Count" with which she continues to be involved. In addition, she has been awarded the following grants to Friends of Outer Island and the Walsh Intermediate School: Capacity Building Grant, Birding Grant, Long Island Sound Futures Fund, Nature of Learning Grant, Excellence in Education and ATT Technology Grant.
While teaching, Ginny was involved in local and national organizations and continues to donate her time, energy and talents. She has served in the following organizations: vice president of Friends of Outer Island, curriculum writer and teacher of Girls Science Investigations through Yale University, judge/mentor for NSTA Toyota Tapestry Environmental Projects, chair of NSTA Retired Members Advisory Board, and volunteer for Phytoplankton Monitoring, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Her work with the students on the refuge has influenced the next step in her life. Currently, Ginny is coordinating a joint project between NSTA and United States Fish and Wildlife Service to enlist retired science teachers around the nation to work as volunteer educators on refuges. She believes that the program at Outer Island is a model for how refuges and retirees could shape students' understanding of conservation.
All of her professional volunteer activities are woven around raising her family. She enjoys visiting her five children from Boston to California, traveling the world with her Astrophysics husband of fifty-one years and hovering over her eleven grandchildren. She finds time to keep herself fit and stimulated by downhill skiing, boating, taking photos, cooking and writing recipes, gardening and kayaking around the Thimbles.
Ginny's contributions to educating Branford's children and giving them the opportunity to learn using hands-on activities, including exploring Outer Island, have been unique. She is a most worthy candidate for Branford's Education Hall of Fame.