211c1aff601b1b544bacb553e5a0be7d.jpg

MANVILLE: Weston’s teacher of the year doubly surprised

By Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
   Weston School kindergarten teacher Victoria Perkins recently had two surprises while at work in the school’s Room 4, where she has taught since starting work in Manville schools 11 years ago.
   The first surprise was when Superintendent of Schools Donald Burkhardt and Principal Don Frank came into her classroom to tell her she’d been selected as the school’s Governor’s Teacher Recognition Award Teacher of the Year.
   Ms. Perkins was chosen for the award by a panel of teachers, administrators and parents after being nominated by the school’s staff, students and their parents.
   ”I was very excited about it,” she said. “I am honored and I was touched that the parents who spoke out that strongly about me.
   ”It is the first time I ever had it; it really did mean quite a bit to me,” Ms. Perkins said. “I had no idea.”
   The second surprised followed the announcement, when parents of her students surprised her with a party in her honor recently.
   They presented Ms. Perkins with two dozen roses and a plaque commemorating her accomplishment. The students all had a part in a play that they read and celebrated with cake.
   ”It was very touching,” she said.
   Ms. Perkins has been a teacher for 18 years, working as a first-grade teacher at St. Francis Cabrini in Piscataway for 7 years before joining the Manville school district.
   She didn’t become a teacher right away — that came after she raised her four children, staying home with them for 16 years.
   But, she said, it was in the course of raising them she realized what she wanted to do — become a teacher. Ms. Perkins went back to college to finish her degree.
   After receiving her bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from Kean College, she went to work at a Mommy and me class and then went on to teach at Piscataway.
   Meanwhile, she also continued her studies, adding certification for teaching disabled students.
   When she came to Weston School, Ms. Perkins started in a self-contained special education classroom, with Nancy Persing, for one year. Then came a stint as a resource room teacher before becoming a kindergarten teacher.
   ”I always wanted the little kids, that is my joy,” Ms. Perkins said. “I do enjoy teaching them to read. I get such a kick of seeing the light bulb go on for them. You see that in both kindergarten and first grade, so I enjoy them both.”
   Ms. Perkins believes kindergarten is the foundation of her young students’ education.
   ”I want to bring a good beginning, a good attitude for school, a good foundation for going to first grade,” she said.
   It’s also important for the parents of the new students. “It’s part of my job to help them make the transition and know the expectations to work with their child at home so their child can go to first grade,” she added.
   Mr. Frank noted Ms. Perkins’ reputation often precedes her — many parents of incoming kindergarten students request her for their kids.
   ”She is patient and brings an expertise to the classroom that helps all students,” he said. “She seeks opportunities for her brightest students to be challenged and for her more needy students to get the extra practice they need to progress. She is an asset to the Weston community.”
   With her family, having the four children and now eight grandchildren, Ms. Perkins is always with kids whether at home or school.
   ”Kids are my thing,” she said.