Thomas Porton, a teacher at the Monroe Academy in the Bronx, was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1995. He is the first and only teacher from New York City to receive that honor.
A Bronx teacher is not only the ONLY New York City teacher to be inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame but he also founded and runs the oldest HIV/AIDS educational program in the nation.
“As AIDS ravaged the city, Bronx teacher Thomas Porton took it upon himself to ensure students understood the deadly disease.
Porton, 65, recalled a student who was stunned in 1991 by the number of families devastated by AIDS asking him: “What are we going to do with this disease?”
So Porton, who now teaches English and drama at the Monroe Academy for Visual Arts & Design, founded Bronx Youth Creating Compassion — in spite of ill-founded opposition.
“We originally dealt with accusations of it being inappropriate,” he said.
Now, it is the longest-running student HIV/AIDS education program in the country, he says. It teaches 300 new students each year.”
– Read the rest at the New York Daily News
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