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MANVILLE: Weston teacher ‘humbled’ by award

By Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
   Weston Elementary School Teacher of the Year for 2010/2011 Sharon Liszczak has been a longtime teacher in the school district, holding many teaching positions during her tenure in Manville. But she had no idea she was the chosen for the honor this year.
   ”I am so honored and humbled to be selected from among such a hard-working team of colleagues, so many of whom are deserving of this honor,” Ms. Liszczak said. “I am truly overjoyed. I had absolutely no idea. I was teaching one of my literacy groups when Mr. Frank made the announcement. I think I actually said ‘Oh my God’ out loud. One of the little girls in my group said, ‘That’s you!”
   Ms. Liszczak has been teaching at Weston for 24 years, including third grade for 12 years. She also teaches Reading Recovery, which she was trained for. Reading Recovery is only a half-day program so Ms. Liszczak has spent the other half of her day teaching many different things. She has spent seven years teaching Spanish in kindergarten through third grade and one year in grade four for a half day a week. Ms. Liszczak spent three years as a kindergarten teacher and two years as a literacy intervention teacher.
   Before Ms. Liszczak began teaching at Weston School, she taught for 11 years in a Catholic school, teaching first and third graders. She then was a stay-at-home mom for four years with her own three children while tutoring 3-year-olds and doing other part-time jobs.
   ”When my oldest started kindergarten at Weston, I became class mom and the ‘teaching bug’ returned. When a teaching position opened up, I applied and have been at Weston ever since,” she said.
   Ms. Liszczak grew up in Middlesex and graduated from Middlesex High School, then graduated from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Ms. Liszczak also has received post-graduate credits from Rutgers, Rider and Marygrove.
   The Liszczak family has lived in Manville for the past 31 years and all three of her children went through the Manville schools, starting in kindergarten and graduating from Manville High School.
   ”Many of my students grew up playing at my house and are still friends of my children today,” Ms. Liszczak said.
   Ms. Liszczak was not only a teacher at Weston but was very involved in the Weston School Parent Teacher Association. She held an officer’s position for 20 years straight, serving in every office except president. She was given the honor of a Life Membership after serving for 20 years. Ms. Liszczak is still a member of the PTA.
   Watching her former students growing up is something that Ms. Liszczak enjoys.
   ”Some of my former students are now teachers and even colleagues who I work with daily,” she said. “It is particularly rewarding that I also have many former students return to tell me that I was influential in their decision to become teachers. Other former students are now parents of my current students. I always tell them ‘You can get as old as you want, as long as I don’t get any older.’   ”
   Don Frank, the principal of Weston School, praised Ms. Liszczak for her honor.
   ”Ms. Liszczak being the Teacher of the Year is a long overdue award. She has demonstrated an incredible amount of flexibility in terms of the positions that she has held over the years — third-grade classroom teacher, kindergarten classroom teacher, Reading Recovery teacher, remedial reading teacher, Spanish teacher — all of those things as well as being able to work on her technology skills and demonstrate the joy of a person who is able to learn and master new things,” he said.
   Ms. Liszczak loves her teaching career and job at Weston School.
   ”My amazing friends at Weston, our delightful children, involved parents and supportive administrators make it a joy to come to work every single day,” she said. “In 35 years of teaching, I have never once doubted my career choice nor have I ever wanted to do anything else. I still love it!”