Su Abrams Kwartowitz, Age 60

Su Abrams Kwartowitz was a beloved teacher at PS 306 in East New York, Brooklyn.

“She was a one in a million teacher who touched her students’ hearts and opened their minds to the pathway of a successful tomorrow,” said Chapter Leader Clifton Sherman. She generously shared her skills, helping other teachers work more successfully with their most difficult students, he said.

Su died of ovarian cancer on June 7, 2010, at age 60. She was in-service and had taught for 10 years.

Su devoted countless hours to creating unique educational materials for her students, celebrating every holiday and special occasion. Always a staunch advocate for children, she loved teaching them valuable information that would serve them well for the rest of their lives, said her husband, Jan Kwartowitz.

“Su was very talented and artistic,” he said. “She knitted, crocheted, painted, hot glued, cut styrofoam and glittered everything in sight.”

Although she was an early childhood specialist, Su had the capability and willingness to successfully teach any elementary grade, Sherman said. “Many teachers will tell. Others will explain. But to Ms. Kwartowitz, the first duty was to inspire,” he said.

Sherman recalled Su's annual Caribbean Day Celebration, during which she joined her students in a dance she created that fused elements of hip-hop and calypso. “She was the first person to introduce us to Russian cookies,” Sherman said, and he kept his in a glass jar for years as a reminder of this special colleague.

A graduate of Samuel J. Tilden HS in Brooklyn, Su earned a bachelor’s in education, graduating with honors from the State University of New York at Old Westbury on Long Island. She earned a master’s in literacy from Queens College.

In addition to her husband, Su is survived by sons Adam and David Kwartowitz.