Vernon Township School District recognizes Governor’s Teachers

VERNON — Laura Ryder’s third grade classroom at Rolling Hills Primary School, along with five district colleagues, were recently recognized as the 2012 Governor’s Teacher Recipient for the Vernon Township School District.

According to Superintendent of Schools, Dr. John B. Alfieri, these six individuals are teacher/building leaders who “honor the art of teaching, day-to-day, in order to provide our students with nurturing and academic learning environments.”

The selection of candidates not only includes traditional classroom teachers, but educational specialists too, including Renate Gratzl, school nurse of Walnut Ridge Primary School, and Stefanie Gastaldello, VTHS guidance counselor.

“So many individuals touch and shape the lives of school children. I’m excited to see the district’s principals recognize educational specialists as important figures in our students’ lives,” Alfieri asserted.

In addition to Ryder, Gratzl, and Gastaldello, the district awards the Governor’s Teacher recognition to Laura Merck, second grade teacher-Cedar Mountain Primary School, Shannon Jenkins, sixth grade science teacher-Lounsberry Hollow Middle School, and Mary Cafarelli, eighth grade language arts teacher-Glen Meadow Middle School.

Started in 1985 by NJ’s 48th governor, republican Thomas Kean, the program aims to acknowledge teachers who exhibit outstanding performance.