Hillsborough School employee named
Support Professional of the Year
By:Emily Craighead
A Hillsborough Elementary School staff member who spends most of her days trying to blend in while assisting special education students in regular classes found herself in the spotlight Monday.
At an assembly for second-grade students, Principal Ed Forsthoffer made a surprise announcement: the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) named Tricia Heddy the New Jersey Educational Support Professional of the year for Somerset County.
"We have many excellent classroom assistants and Ms. Heddy is a perfect representative for all the assistants we have working in this district," Mr. Forsthoffer said.
In a brief, impromptu ceremony, Hillsborough Education Association President Barbara Parker presented Ms. Heddy with a bouquet of flowers.
In their letters of recommendation, the four teachers who nominated Ms. Heddy for support professional of the year praised her discretion in assisting special education students being mainstreamed into regular classes.
"She sits on the floor next to or behind the children and whispers the directions or guides their hands to play a game," wrote music teacher Nina Sutcliffe in her recommendation to the NJEA. "She tries very had to help her students blend into the class so they are accepted and valued by their peers."
Ms. Heddy has also planned events where children from regular and special education classes could work side by side. Last year, she organized a Halloween art activity and a holiday craft session, according to second grade teacher Liz Schryver.
Enthusiasm was another trait that teachers Dolores Marsicano and Eileen Simonak emphasized in their nomination of Ms. Heddy.
"Mrs. Heddy will never complain and is always quick to find the brighter side of things when challenges present themselves," Ms. Marsicano wrote.
Ms. Simonik wrote that "Mrs. Heddy’s sparkling personality makes us all smile each and every day."
Mustering enthusiasm each day for a job she loves, working with people who are equally committed to education and children isn’t difficult, according to Ms. Heddy.
"With their enthusiasm it’s hard not to be the same way," she said.
Just four years ago, Ms. Heddy left a career in business to teach. She spent her first year at Woodfern Elementary and then moved to Hillsborough Elementary.
"I wanted to get into education for a long time," Ms. Heddy said. "I made a job change and I wasn’t happy, so my husband suggested I try this."
The NJEA will honor all the county Educational Support Professionals of the year at an awards dinner March 5 at the Brunswick Hilton.

