Ask sixth-grade teacher Lisa Rapisarda what she teaches, and she won’t say “social studies.” She’ll smile and tell you she teaches curiosity, how to question, explore, and connect the dots between past and present.
“I love sixth grade,” Rapisarda told the Swampscott Tides. “It’s the sweet spot of middle school. They’re old enough to take on responsibility and really engage with learning, but they still have fun and want to be here. They’re not too cool for school yet.”
That mix of warmth, patience and creativity is what earned Rapisarda this year’s title of educator of the year, a recognition that, she says, took her completely by surprise. The Swampscott Education Association honored Rapisarda with the recognition in September. The president of the teachers’ union told her about two weeks before school reconvened, which Rapisarda said she was shocked about and had to keep a secret until the year started.
Rapisarda credited her colleagues and administrators, including Superintendent Jason Calichman and High School Principal Emily Zotto, saying that their leadership allows her to do her job.
“To be recognized by your colleagues is amazing,” Rapisarda said. “But it’s not just me. We work as a team. My teammates make each other better. I don’t shine just because I’m by myself…I wouldn’t want to do this work without that support.”
Rapisarda’s journey as an educator began nearly three decades ago as a special educator at the Swampscott High School. Her classes were then in the now-middle school building. While she teaches social studies now, she still holds her special education certification, and in the summer Rapisarda works with students with autism in the Discovery Learning Program, which she noted “that part of my career means a lot to me.”
Over the years, she taught at schools across Massachusetts and New Hampshire, but Swampscott always called her back.
“I’ve taught in a lot of different places, but I always came back to Swampscott,” she said. “It’s home.”
Now she teaches sixth-grade social studies, a role that blends her love of storytelling with her deep understanding of how different students learn.
Walk into Rapisarda’s classroom, and you’ll find students doing more than flipping through textbooks. They’re building miniature mummies, crafting papyrus like the ancient Egyptians, and turning their classroom into a museum.
“At the end of the year, we do a museum project,” she said. “Students pick a civilization we’ve studied, like the Babylonians or West African kingdoms, and create an artifact. They write a description card and display it. Even the fifth graders come up to see it.”
These hands-on lessons are part of her teaching philosophy, rooted in inquiry and discovery.
“All students are capable and have something to offer,” Rapisarda said. “A teacher’s job is to find where they can access the lesson. My special education background has really benefited all students. It helps me accommodate everybody.”
She said she believes in starting with curiosity, as students begin their history units with “good questions,” which guide their studies.
“I try to make history relevant,” Rapisarda said. “I want the kids to dig deeper and learn more by generating their own questions. I want them to be little historians.”
Even with decades of experience, Rapisarda did admit that teaching can have its challenges, especially in today’s digital world.
“Phones and social media have been the biggest challenge,” she said. “Students struggle with immediate gratification. They want the answer right away. Learning to sit without knowing, to research and persevere, that’s hard for them.”
But her approach is to make problem-solving part of the culture.
“We try to normalize struggle,” she said. “If it were easy all the time, we wouldn’t be growing. That’s where the learning happens. That’s the magic right there.”
Rapisarda also mentioned the rapport she is able to build with her students, especially since she lives in Swampscott like many of them.
“The kids see me in town, in Stop & Shop, in Marshall’s, walking my dog. I think they see me as someone who’s committed to my town, my school, my job, and my students,” Rapisarda said. “I think they see me as a steady person who’s always there. I’m here early. I stay after school. I’m present.”
And that’s what Rapisarda said she hopes students will remember about her teaching years from now.
“Maybe that I cared about them,” she said. “That they felt welcomed and supported. They might not love the content, but they liked coming to class, having a good time, feeling seen, feeling cared for.”
