By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
MILLSTONE — Three local public school teachers — Rachel Moriarty, Christine Smith and Lisa Murin — were recognized by the Board of Education at its most recent meeting for being named Monmouth County teachers of the year.
The educators, representing each of the district’s three school buildings, were selected because they are “an outstanding example of the kind of teaching that we want to see continue in our district,” said interim Schools Superintendent John Szabo during an awards ceremony at the May 23 school board meeting.
Ms. Moriarty, a seventh-grade language arts teacher at Millstone Middle School, also is co-adviser of the book club, and a field hockey and lacrosse coach. The Millstone Township Foundation for Educational Excellence awarded Ms. Moriarty a grant this year to attend the National Council of English Teachers convention in Chicago to further her writers’ workshop teaching techniques.
Dr. Szabo praised Ms. Moriarty’s dedication and commitment to her students, calling her a “role model for students and for her fellow teachers.”
Mrs. Smith has taught in the district since 2000 and is now in her third year teaching remedial math at the Millstone Primary School. Dr. Szabo praised Ms. Smith for her being passionate about teaching, demonstrating leadership in a successful program that looped second and third grade classes, and for immersing herself in the “tenets of differentiated instruction.”
Lisa Murin, a fourth-grade teacher at Millstone Elementary School, has been teaching in the district since 1996 and is currently the president of the Millstone Township Education Association.
”From my firsthand dealings with Mrs. Murin, I can understand how her colleagues and her community would eagerly support her as Teacher of the Year,” Dr. Szabo said. “Mrs. Murin is candid, open and understanding in all her dealings whether with adults or students.”
Dr. Szabo said Mrs. Murin has “worked tirelessly to ensure that her students receive instruction needed to maximize their learning potential.”

