HILLSBOROUGH: Her class sets sail to learning

Karen Hoffman selected as county ‘teacher of the year’

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
   Every day is a voyage of discovery for students in the classes of Karen Hoffman, a sixth grade literacy teacher at Auten Road Intermediate School.
   In her port — err, make that her classroom — she opens every period with a salute and a brisk “Welcome aboard, crew!” That’s her signal her ship is ready to embark on the day’s journey into classwork.
   Her desk is the helm. Pirate hats are taped to the top of each computer on the side of the room. Skull-and-bones visuals are everywhere in the room. And if a child has to use the bathroom, he or she has to leave a bandana-ed skull on their desk, just to remind the captain where one of her crew has disappeared.
   The kids seem to enjoy playing at their work. They reply to her pirate-ese with similar language, and they are even beginning to master port and starboard, she said.
   ”To me, teaching is a grand adventure,” said Mrs. Hoffman, whose entire 27-year career has been in Hillsborough schools. “It is as exciting and exhilarating as sailing the high seas in a pirate ship! If it weren’t, this captain would have abandoned ship a long time ago.”
   For her effectiveness, infectious enthusiasm and above-the call of duty passion, Mrs. Hoffman has been selected from 21 districts as the Somerset County Teacher of the Year.
   Her staging and choreography continue for the hundreds of shows a year that go in today’s classroom year. Her enthusiasm and constant movement can make a 40-minute class in writing compound and complex sentences (she uses phrases like “Blackbeard made his captors walk the plank”) speed by.
   Mrs. Hoffman, who has taught in many of the Hillsborough schools since 1984, said, “I have a love of literacy and I like to share it with anyone I come in contact with … my crew, the whole building.”
   ”You have to be more dynamic and enthusiastic because you deal with so many extraneous factors,” said Mrs. Hoffman, who signs her e-mail as “captain.”
   ”Kids are getting everything thrown at them in multi-media ways. Lots of times you have a hard time keeping their attention. You have to vie for it these days. If you can call anything a game, they’ll do it.”
   Not surprisingly, she took in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie on Friday in Hillsborough and invited the “crew.” Alas, the draw of a middle school dance prevailed, she admitted, and no one took up her offer, “though I am considering visiting that port again when there is not a dance scheduled,” she said.
   Outside the curriculum, she and her class have adopted a platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan, and send them a package very month. In April, she organized a public program featuring survivors of the Nazi Holocaust.
   Fellow team teacher Deborah Nawrotzki said, “I have not come across another teacher that is more dedicated and truly puts the needs of her students and others above herself. My teaching is more fulfilling because Mrs. Hoffman imparts her enthusiasm and passion for her students no matter what the circumstance.”
   Her selection as county teacher of the year is the latest in a process. She was chosen as the Auten Road “teacher of the year,” and then applied for the district honor. For district and county consideration, it meant writing a lot of essays. For state consideration, she has had to produce a 15-minute video.
   A panel convened by the Somerset schools county office focused on selecting a teacher leader who is making an impact in their school and district and plans on pursuing their career in education for years to come.
   ”The Hillsborough School District,” said Superintendent Jorden Schiff, “is delighted and extremely proud to have Mrs. Hoffman represent our outstanding faculty in this capacity.”