Testimonials
"Shawna Longo is an incredible resource to support the work of implementing a STEAM project or unit for your program. You will quickly learn that working with Shawna provides you and your team with three essential benefits: quality, professionalism and knowledge. The moment you connect with Shawna your conversations are geared at developing a comprehensive program focused on the needs of your program. Her professionalism and warm demeanor make collaborating a pleasurable experience with an emphasis on connecting you to resources to benefit your goals. Her knowledge basis and experience make the process intentional, focused and most of all an opportunity to build on the areas that are currently working for your organization while building on new initiatives. Shawna is an incredible resource to support all of your needs."
~ Latasha Casterlow-Lalla, Supervisor of Art & Music, Passaic Schools, New Jersey
" Shawna is a force of nature. When she begins discussing STEAM and arts integration, her knowledge of the material, experience and skill using it with students, and especially her passion for all of the above is such that one is almost magically drawn in and compelled to participate."
~ Bill Carbone, Executive Director, Rock and Roll Forever Foundation
"I've had the good fortune of experiencing Shawna present workshops on STEAM and Arts Integration in a variety of settings. Her 24 years of experience as both a teacher and administrator provide her with the ability to present in a way that is direct, insightful, and actionable. Her commitment to personal and professional growth are evidenced by how well researched and prepared she is for the particular audience she is working with. Her ability to anticipate questions, offer solutions, and condense big ideas into bite sized applications is on par with the best I've seen."
~ Edric Debos, Visual Art Teacher, Hopatcong Schools, New Jersey
"I first came across Shawna Longo at a summer workshop a few years back when I was experiencing a change in my career. I had been teaching middle school band for over 30 years and elementary general music K-3 and found myself now teaching middle school chorus and general music grades 3-8. Not exactly up to date with this end of the spectrum, I went to the NJMEA Summer Workshop to get some ideas on how to approach this.
Besides the MS chorus sessions, I also took a session on MS general music with Mrs. Longo and never looked back. She was phenomenal. She was energetic in her presentation which was strongly rooted pedagogically. Mrs. Longo presented curriculum that was designed for the students to have fun while learning at the same time. She also went through the process of how the lessons were designed with administrative input and resources that were well planned and implemented, and we saw the results of some of these lessons. Mrs. Longo also had a choral performance session focusing on the mechanics of dealing with a MS chorus, and she gladly shared this material with us. All of this was immensely helpful in dealing with my new situation.
Since those first sessions, I have tried to attend any session Mrs. Longo has held, and they have all been very helpful. Especially the recent sessions on STEAM and the process involved with that…with working with other staff members in collaborative projects. T his is all very relevant to what’s going on with education in NJ. The emphasis has been on STEM, but with the new Title IV provisions we can squeeze the “A” in there with more confidence. Mrs. Longo’s approach is well thought out and shows, with cooperation of educators from other disciplines, how much we can achieve in exploring the interconnectedness within education.
Shawna Longo’s work in this area is fabulous, highly professional and totally engaging. You can’t do better."
~ Peter Nicolle, Music Teacher, New Jersey
"Shawna Longo's cross-curricular approaches to the music room are some of the most innovative and engaging I have seen among STEAM influenced music educators. There is no limit to her creativity when it comes to creating music lessons centered around a multi-faceted STEAM curriculum."
~ Lauren Goldman, Music Teacher, New Jersey
"Shawna Longo has an 'in the trenches' mindset that is important to actually getting the vision transformed into reality. As an administrator, I appreciate that!"
~ Anonymous, "Building Your STEAM Environment" workshop participant
"Shawna Longo is dynamic and has both administrative and teaching experience. This blend of visionary and pragmatic enables participants to make their STEAM dreams a reality!"
~ Paul Gorski, Principal, Fair Lawn High School, NJ