Monroe teachers honored

Board of Education names teachers of the year.

By: Leon Tovey
   MONROE — The school district’s six teachers of the year for 2006 are a varied lot.
   They range from a high school gym teacher with almost 34 years of experience who never wanted to do anything else, to a second-grade teacher who came to education six years ago after a career in public relations, to a sixth-grade teacher who left the classroom to teach computer skills not just to students, but to her fellow educators.
   One thing they all have in common, however, is a passion for teaching and learning.
   District Superintendent Ralph Ferrie praised the six teachers during Monday’s board meeting, saying that, "while we feel like all our teachers are exemplary, these six individuals stand out from the rest."
   The six teachers, one from each school, were nominated and selected for the honor by their peers, past recipients of the awards among them.
   This year’s winners were: Patricia Dinsmore, a second-grade teacher at Barclay Brook School; Sandra A. Cormey, a first-grade teacher at Mill Lake School; Dawn Graziano, a sixth-grade teacher at Brookside School; Catherine Huling, a teacher of technology at Woodland School; Adele Hughes, a language arts teacher at Applegarth Middle School; and Debbie Bolla, a health and physical education teacher at Monroe Township High School.
   Each of the teachers who spoke to The Cranbury Press this week said she was honored to be recognized and each was praised by school administrators.
   "It’s very nice, very humbling," Ms. Bolla said Wednesday. One of the longest-serving teachers in the district, Ms. Bolla is finishing up her 34th year at the high school, where she has served as a representative to the union and as an instructor in peer-leadership programs.
   "She’s one of those people who you know enjoys what she’s doing," said James Griffin, an assistant principal at the high school. "She’s not one of those folks who are in and out the door with a bare minimum; it’s not a job for her, it’s clearly a vocation."
   "My next stop will be six feet under," Ms. Bolla joked. "I’m happy at what I’m doing and I still enjoy it — and the kids — every day."
   Brookside Principal Dennis Ventrello on Tuesday said he would need "about 50 adjectives" to adequately describe Ms. Graziano, who has been teaching at the third- through sixth-grade school for 11 years.
   "She’s a team player, very personable and she works to meet the needs of the kids," he said.
   Ms. Graziano, a graduate of Rutgers University and Rider University, has spent her entire career at Brookside — first as a student teacher, then for seven years teaching fourth-graders and the for the last few years as a sixth-grade teacher.
   She said that for her, being a good educator is as much about learning as it is about teaching.
   "Being a student keeps you in tune with your students," she said.
   Woodland Principal Victor Soriano said Ms. Huling’s success at the school has also been based on her joy in teaching through learning. After 10 years as a sixth-grade teacher, Ms. Huling was hired this year as the school’s teacher of technology, a new position created by the district to help incorporate technology into the curriculum.
   Mr. Soriano credited Ms. Huling with helping to break down the barriers between many of the school’s teachers and technology.
   "That’s why for us, she was such a good fit," Mr. Soriano said. "Because she’d been in the classroom for 10 years and didn’t have that barrier someone new might’ve had.
   "Almost every teacher does lessons on the computer now — not to mention using their e-mail and things like that more," he continued. "It’s a huge change and it’s attributable to her."
   Innovation was also a major component of why Ms. Dinsmore was selected, said John Melitsky, assistant principal at Barclay Brook.
   Now in her fifth year teaching second grade at the kindergarten through second-grade school, Ms. Dinsmore has managed to secure a number of grants from the district and the Monroe Education Foundation.
   "I like to work on these kind of hands-on approaches to learning," said Ms. Dinsmore, who left a job in public relations several years ago to become a teacher after the two oldest of her three children attended Barclay Brook. "I love teaching at this age, because — it sounds like a cliché, but it’s true — the kids are just like sponges."
   Ms. Cormey, a first-grade teacher at Mill Lake, agreed.
   "You have to take creative approaches to teaching kids at this age — and I love doing that," she said. "When they come in in the fall — it’s such a transitional period — they want to learn and to grow and it’s great to watch that over the course of the year and be a part of it. I like the character-forming aspect of it."
   And Ms. Cormey is among the best at helping her students form character, Mill Lake Principal Lynn Barberi said.
   "She’s a wonderful teacher, very soft-spoken, who makes learning fun" — an important characteristic in a first-grade teacher, whose teaching will influence how students learn in the future, Ms. Barberi said.