John Walsh's Outstanding Contributions Recognized by Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education

Congratulations to Patton technology teacher, John Walsh, on earning the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education's William Alexander Award.

The award is given to an individual who has made a significant, positive contribution to middle level education in the state of Pennsylvania. 

PES first grade teacher Amy Simonds has nominated for the 2017-2018 national LifeChanger of the Year award

Pocopson Elementary School first grade teacher Amy Simonds has been nominated for the 2017-2018 national LifeChanger of the Year award.

Sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation, LifeChanger of the Year recognizes and rewards the very best K-12 educators and school district employees across the United States who are making a difference in the lives of students by exemplifying excellence, positive influence and leadership.

Amy Simonds was nominated by the parent of a student, Naomi Bowen.

Mrs. Simonds is the quintessential fairytale elementary teacher. She has the biggest heart and the kindest way with all of her students. She once shared that she could never imagine doing anything other than teaching first grade. This year, she was a rock for Bowen's daughter, the youngest of four, who entered Mrs. Simonds' class as a new student to the district.

"Being a teacher myself and having worked with many excellent teachers over the years, I am amazed by the exceptional amount of effort that Mrs. Simonds devotes to ensuring that the needs of each and every one of her students are met," Bowen said.

Mrs. Simonds is always there for her students, often answering emails late at night and sending frequent reminders using multiple mediums to ensure that her busy parents are aware of their students' needs in her classroom. This general description of Mrs. Simonds can't even begin to illuminate the many little things she does to make each of her children love her and love school. When talking to Mrs. Simonds, you can tell that she truly loves and cares about each of her students. Bowen recalled that on one occasion, upon hearing that Bowen's family adopted a new puppy, Mrs. Simonds, without prompting, went out of her way to get a picture of the puppy and print it so that Bowen's daughter could show the rest of her class and share her excitement.

"This year, my daughter came home happy and excited to share stories from Mrs. Simonds' classroom every single day!" Bowen said.

Mrs. Simonds instills a love for learning and persevering through tough problems, while helping her students learn to value their strengths.

"My daughter is very lucky to have had the experience of learning with Mrs. Simonds in first grade," said Bowen. "I believe that the teaching community has much to learn from the magic Mrs. Simonds creates in her classroom, each and every day."

Brian Kelley's work Published in English Journal

Brian is an English Teacher at Patton Middle School.  In this published article, appearing in the English Journal, Brian shares experiences from his own classroom, where students collaborated on a classroom novel, submitting their work to professional editors, and then publishing their novel on Amazon.

Read the Article

Brian in a proud middle school teacher who has published two other articles over the past two years.  He is an a strong advocate for providing students authentic learning experiences.  A life long learner, reader, writer - and he loves to collaborate with like-minded colleagues who are focused on student empowerment and success.  

You can follow him on Twitter @_briank_

English Journal is a publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) - an award-winning journal of ideas for English language arts teachers in junior and senior high schools and middle schools. It presents information on the teaching of writing and reading, literature, and language, and includes information on how teachers are putting the latest technologies to work in their classrooms.

Lean more about NCTE and the English Journal

Congratulations Doctor Reider!

Doctor Leah Reider

https://twitter.com/LeahReider/status/874921571500134400/photo/1

I survived the heat and participated in @DrexelUniv commencement last night! Congrats to the class of 2017 🎓#foreverdragons pic.twitter.com/iAYJ5wpsrF

— Leah Reider (@LeahReider) June 14, 2017

UHS Teacher Andy Dippell Selected by Students as Teacher of the Year

Click here to watch Andy's graduation day message to the Class of 2017

Pocopson Teacher Mrs Bakes - 2017 Citadel Heart of Learning Finalist

"A genuine, kind-hearted, and extremely caring person that you can absolutely tell lives and breathes being a teacher for her kids."

"Each and every student is special and she incorporates each child's 'uniqueness' into her curriculum."

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The Citadel Heart of Learning Award was created in 2001 by Citadel and the Chester County Intermediate Unit. Now in its 16th year, the program honors and thanks teachers who show excellence in the classroom and have made a difference in the lives of students, their families, and the community. Thousands of nominations are submitted each year for teachers throughout Chester County.

“Every day teachers show tireless dedication to enhancing the lives of our students, and these nominations reaffirm that,” said Michael Schnably, Senior Vice-President at Citadel and Co-Chair for the Citadel Heart of Learning Award. “Teachers are an essential part of what makes our communities stronger, and we are proud to celebrate them with the Citadel Heart of Learning Award.”

Each year 15 finalists are selected from the nominations; one finalist from each of the 13 public school districts in Chester County, one from the Chester County Intermediate Unit, and one from a Chester County non-public school, which includes charter and home schools. All finalists receive $500 to use in their classroom and are honored at the Citadel Heart of Learning Awards banquet in May. Three winners are selected from the 15 finalists – one high school, one middle school, and one elementary school teacher – and each receives an additional $1,500 to use in their classroom.

Patton Teacher Brian Kelly gets Published!

Congratulations to 8th grade Creative Writing teacher, Brian Kelley! His article, "Developing as a Writer, Growing as a Teacher" has been published in the January 2017 issue of the NCTE's award-winning English Journal.

To read Brian's article visit - NCTE's English Journal