State group honors Joanne Hala

   Claremont Drive resident Joanne Hala received the "Adult Educator of the Year" award from the New Jersey Association for Lifelong Learning (NJALL) in recognition of her work with the county adult education program, The Jointure.
   Ms. Hala received the award at the NJALL annual conference in April.
   Ms. Hala has been a teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL) at The Jointure since 1991, the award cited her commitment to the growth and development of her students and her deep love of teaching.
   She teaches ESL classes for students of many ethnicities, varying ages, multiple literacy levels and highly differentiated life experience. Her curriculum matches the real-world needs of her students with lesson plans that routinely include instruction on using 9-1-1 emergency systems, how to find a doctor in the yellow pages, and how to explain problems to medical professionals.
   Lauded by students and professionals alike, she is known for her creativity and the experiential learning "events" she uses to teach particular skills.
   "When Joanne had a class in a building where the only available parking was metered, and the meters had to be fed during class time, she began the session with a discussion of parking meters, time and money," David Kring, past president of The Jointure’s Board of Trustees, said.
   Long before Family Literacy became a hot topic for adult literacy programming and practice, Ms. Hala recognized that there was a real need to develop a communication linkage between schools and parents in homes where English was not the spoken language.
   Working with the Hillsborough Board of Education and the Hillsborough Education Association, she influenced the launch of a well-received family literacy program that has improved communication between the school, parents and children.
   "I have coined a title for Joanne Hala — ESL Angel," Dr. Robert Gulick said. "Every day and all day for many years, Joanne has been available to assist those whose primary language is different than English."