Stuyvesant’s Social Studies Teachers Win Teaching Awards

Stuyvesant social studies teachers recently earned recognition for their hard work and dedication. AP Human Geography teacher Josina Dunkel won a GeoBoost Grant from the Geography Educator Initiative, and AP U.S. History teacher Robert Sandler placed as a finalist for the FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence.

The GeoBoost grant is a $300 prize from the American Geographical Society’s Geography Educator Initiative, offered annually to AP Human Geography teachers around the country; they can use the money to enhance their students’ learning experience. Grant winners often use the money to fund interactive projects, field trips, and other activities. Specifically, teachers have paid for virtual reality headsets, LEGO maps, thermal cameras, and even a kayaking experience. 

Dunkel is very involved in the geography community, both within Stuyvesant and New York City, which was what initially introduced her to the GeoBoost Grant and inspired her to apply. “Last year, I attended a conference held at Columbia University, and I mentor the Teen Maptivist Club at Stuyvesant. This means that I am looped into announcements of things like grants,” Dunkel said in an email interview.

Applying for the GeoBoost Grant was a simple process. “It required filling out a Google Form and imagining what I would do if I won,” Dunkel said. Winners were then chosen a few weeks after the due date.

Dunkel hopes to spend the money from the grant on classroom resources dedicated to deepening her students’ understanding of geography and inspiring excitement to learn even more. “Geography is maps, but it is also imagining the world. I would like to spend the money on interesting maps as well as travel guides to help geography students understand the world around them,” Dunkel said.

In addition to the grant, Dunkel and her students will also receive several copies of a geography-themed board game, which could be used as a fun in-class activity. “I should also mention that we field-tested a geography game last month—geography students as well as the Board Game Club. They are sending us nine copies of the game ‘Dad in Chad!’ when it gets produced. I look forward to playing that game in class, too,” Dunkel said.

Overall, Dunkel had a positive experience with the grant, using the money to effectively improve her class. In the future, she hopes to apply for the grant again or pursue similar initiatives. “If I am eligible to apply again, I will certainly put in for another grant. Geography is an amazing course that helps to explain so much of the world, having additional resources to tell the stories or enhance the understanding can only make that better,” Dunkel said.

The FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence is an award that recognizes and honors remarkable public school teachers who encourage learning via creativity and passion. The process begins with several teachers across all five districts nominated for this prestigious award. Then, an independent jury selects a group of finalists from these nominations—finalists receive a $10,000 prize with an additional $5,000 for their school to be used for art-based initiatives designed by each winner. 

Sandler was first introduced to this award during the COVID-19 pandemic when he found out that an anonymous individual had nominated him—he was a semi-finalist and received a $500 prize that year. This time in 2025, Sandler was nominated again by his former student, Julia Baskin. He placed as a finalist and won the $10,000 prize, which he chose to put into his kids’ college accounts as well as to travel to Iceland and Amsterdam. He was also given $5,000 to use for arts-based initiatives in his classroom.

This is not an honor given to many educators—in fact, there were only 10 finalists for the award in 2025. Sandler credits his teaching style as the reason for him being a finalist. Art is ubiquitous in Sandler’s class; he feels it is very important when analyzing history. “A lot of the award is about how you use art,” said Sandler. “If you ask the students who have me, you do a lot of art historical analysis. You look at Frederic Remington and his beautiful paintings. We look at the American West and Manifest Destiny and do a really deep dive in the Hudson River School.”

Students feel that Sandler connects art with history very closely, and this helps engage them more in class. “Major events in history are always drawn with paintings and images. I think Mr. Sandler does a great job of noting this correlation, and it makes class much more interesting. It also exposes me to all different kinds of art that I have never seen before,” senior Eric Liu said. 

Sandler’s inspiration for learning through art goes beyond the classroom. For example, Sandler recently took his Jewish history students to the Jewish Museum for a show on Ben Shahn, a Jewish social realist who made iconic paintings of the Sacco and Vanzetti trials. Students appreciate these trips that Sandler takes his students on, allowing them to get a grasp of history outside the classroom. “Mr. Sandler has brought us on so many different trips that really allow me to relate what is being taught in the classroom to seeing real-life examples of it,” Liu said.

In addition, Sandler had also done a lot of work on National History Day in the past, with his students winning awards by integrating art into their work. It is clear that Sandler’s creativity towards his teaching methods using art encourages student growth and understanding in the classroom.

Together, Dunkel and Sandler’s achievements highlight their passion and dedication to their jobs and the positive, lasting impact they have on their students. Their hard work has paid off by not only winning resources necessary to improve their students’ learning experience even more but also shedding a positive light on Stuyvesant’s social studies department. Sandler has not yet decided what he is going to spend the $5,000 for arts-based initiatives on, but he has ideas in mind. “The original idea that was really ambitious was doing some kind of mural and hiring an artist. But I will always spend the money, most likely on trips,” Sandler said.