By: Cara Latham
HIGHTSTOWN Ellen Ogintz, a special education teacher at the Ethel McKnight Elementary School for the past 18 years, has been named the 2007-2008 Mercer County Teacher of the Year.
Ms. Ogintz, who was also selected as the Teacher of the Year for the East Windsor Regional School District, was honored by the school board Monday in front of a couple dozen of her students, parents and other teachers.
Ms. Ogintz, a fifth-grade inclusion class teacher, was described as a "child advocate" by Superintendent Ron Bolandi, who read a statement Ms. Ogintz wrote about her teaching philosophy.
That philosophy is to look at the world through the eyes of each student and view children as unique individuals while working with them to build their self-esteem, talents and strengths, he read.
"I know as superintendent of this district, Ellen is saying that, but that’s a reality," Mr. Bolandi said. "If you’re ever in Ellen’s class, she works extremely hard, and she’s a tremendous child advocate. She’s an absolutely great, great role model for our staff."
Ms. Ogintz will now be considered in the state-level Teacher of the Year program, where a state panel will make a selection from the 21 county winners.
Ms. Ogintz thanked her co-workers, administrators and all her "sweeties," who gathered in the front row at the meeting to support her.
"I used to say that I wanted to be an actress, but I’ll be a teacher because then I can have an audience that won’t walk out if they don’t like" something, she joked. "It works they don’t walk out."
The school board also honored one teacher in each of the district’s schools. Those honored were Kathleen Fallon, second-grade teacher at the Grace Norton Rogers School; Barbara Fessler, a special education teacher at the Melvin H. Kreps Middle School; Karen Goff, a special education teacher at Hightstown High School; Luann Masters, second-grade teacher at the Perry L. Drew School; Mary McCabe, first-grade teacher at the Ethel McKnight Elementary School; and Kay Scott, second-grade teacher at the Walter C. Black School.
