PDE names Teacher of the Year semifinalists

Harrisburg – Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak today announced the 30 semifinalists who will vie for the prestigious title of 2011 Teacher of the Year.

“Pennsylvania teachers represent some of the best educators in the nation,” Zahorchak said. “We delight in the opportunity to honor these exemplary educators, who invest their time, hard work and energy to ensure that their students succeed.”

The instructor selected as Pennsylvania’s Teacher of the Year will serve as a spokesperson for teachers across the state and have the unique opportunity to represent the best in the education field.

Teachers were nominated by students, parents, colleagues or community members. A committee of former award recipients and past finalists select 30 semifinalists. From these 30 nominees the committee will chose 12 finalists.

The winner will be announced in October at the annual Teacher of the Year celebration in Harrisburg and will be Pennsylvania’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year. The national winner will be named in the spring of 2011.

Michelle Switala, a mathematics teacher at Pine-Richland School District in Allegheny County, was named Pennsylvania’s 2010 Teacher of the Year.

Pennsylvania has participated in the Teacher of the Year program since 1965. The program is co-sponsored by the state Department of Education and the Pennsylvania chapter of the National State Teacher of the Year.

Media contact: Leah Harris, 717-783-9802
Editor’s Note: A list of the finalists for the 2011 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year follows:
Linda Arricale, Pennsbury School District
Robin Bayliff, Schuykill Haven Area School District
Matthew Boice, Quaker Valley School District
Sally Bovell, Great Valley School District
Timothy Chelednik, Brockway Area School District
Jeffrey Chou, Abington School District
Michael Cioffi, Williamsport Area School District
John Dolphin, Pine-Richland School District
Thor R. Edmiston, Midd-West School District
Adrienne Floro, Quaker Valley School District
Michele Pavlov Fowkes, Upper Perkiomen School District
Melissa Fulmer, West Mifflin Area School District
Nathan Grippin, West Perry School District
Carol A. Guogas, New Hope-Solebury School District
Angela D. Homan, Penns Valley School District
Thomas Joyce, Pine-Richland School District
Kathryn Kasten, Bethel Park School District
Carin J. Liberati, Pine-Richland School District
Diane Lupia, Mechanicsburg Area School District
Molly Masser, Northern Lebanon School District
Kimberly D. McCoid, Pine-Richland School District
Kimberly McWherter, Derry Area School District
Cyndi Page, Abington Heights School District
Jennifer Jankowski Pavlin, Pine-Richland School District
Stephanie L. Ripka, Penns Valley School District
Dede Rittman, North Allegheny School District
Karen Shaffran, Cheltenham Township School District
Jaclyn Sheaffer, Midd-West School District
Leann Starner, South Western School District
Stephanie Staub, Upper Adams School District
Gretchen Stoddard, Northern Lebanon School District
Dr. Mark P. Thomas, Upper Perkiomen School District
Mairi Cooper Thompson, Fox Chapel Area School District
Laura S. Tobias, Penns Valley School District
Shawn Walk, Quaker Valley School District
Paul Wright, Radnor Township School District

Allegheny Teacher named Teacher of the Year

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A high school math instructor from the Pittsburgh suburbs who hails from a family of educators was honored Tuesday as Pennsylvania’s teacher of the year.
Michelle S. Switala, head of the Math Department at Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, beat out 11 other finalists to collect the award from the Pennsylvania chapter of the National State Teachers of the Year organization.
Student Tom Robinson, who introduced her at the award ceremony in Harrisburg, said Switala was known for her sense of humor and called her “one of those teachers I’ll never forget.”
She held weekly after-school study sessions that helped him get through Algebra 2.
“In my class, if someone didn’t grasp the material, she retaught it in different ways until they got it,” Robinson said.
Switala’s parents and six siblings are teachers, and Switala is pursuing a doctorate in math education at the University of Pittsburgh.
“Not only does she expect her students to learn and grow, she also expects it of herself,” Robinson said.
The 40-year-old Switala said she loves her profession and thanked her students for what they have taught her.
“You challenge me, you frustrate me, you make me laugh,” she said. “Sometimes you make me cry. I’ve only broken down twice during the day and just started bawling. You know, not recently.”
Pennsylvania Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said Switala and the finalists, chosen from about 150,000 educators across the state, will serve as examples for their fellow teachers.
“For the teacher who wins, this is a year of excitement and a year where that teacher will touch other educators over and over and grow, exponentially, the ideals that good teaching is all about,” Zahorchak said.
Switala will represent the state next year in the 2010 national teacher of the year competition.
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