This past school year was unlike any we've seen before. In June the Education Foundation of Bridgewater-Raritan reached out to the community and facilitated a teacher tribute to celebrate the teachers and educational support professionals who went above and beyond to make distance learning a positive experience. Educators were nominated by parents, students and other staff members for their extraordinary work.
The Education Foundation is a non-profit organization run by trustees who live or work in the area and are dedicated to raising funds to pay for innovative projects and programs for the Bridgewater-Raritan School District. Since their inception they have funded over $600K in classroom grants and scholarships for students across the district.
Mrs. Carolyn Richardson, a first grade teacher at Van Holten Primary School, was nominated by four separate families for her seamless transition to distance learning! An educator in the district since 1998, Bridgewater is in her blood. Mrs. Richardson’s husband, Paul Richardson, is a graduate of the class of 1977, and their children Jamie (class of 2005) and John (class of 2008) are also alumni.
According to parent Anne Higgins, “Mrs. Richardson was a champion of continued academic excellence and the same high level of care, concern, and emotional support that she showed during the school year, during distance-learning. At one point our son felt especially sad and overwhelmed that he couldn’t be with his friends and teachers. We shared those concerns with Mrs. Richardson and she immediately made arrangements to connect with him one on one. Listening to their Google Meet from the other room just filled our hearts with joy. She filled him up with confidence and was somehow able to provide the same connection that she did in the classroom. While we certainly wish that Daniel was able to spend the whole year in the classroom with his friends and this outstanding educator, we wouldn’t trade the experience of having Mrs. Richardson as his first-grade teacher.”
Another parent, Jodi Faris shared, “Mrs. Richardson has been a wonderful teacher for Annalise this year! She truly cares about her students with her whole heart, regarding both their academic success, and their emotional wellbeing. She worked so hard to deliver a comprehensive distance learning curriculum, and even took the time to write positive feedback on every assignment. As a former teacher myself, I consider Mrs. Richardson an excellent educator.”
When asked how she kept her students engaged from a distance, Mrs. Richardson explained, “Engament from a distance presents a unique challenge, as our students are now separated by a screen and distracted by the comforts of their own home. One important aspect of our distance learning was making space for students to share about themselves, whether it was their pet or sibling. Similar to our physical classroom, our students needed to reconnect to their digital classroom. This was new and exciting for the students, and time for connecting in their new space was vital for instruction to occur. All of our lessons always included time for social connection, so that we retained the classroom community we had built since September. “
The Education Foundation would like to thank all of the educators in our district who worked tirelessly to help our students and their families through this historically challenging school year. Congratulations to all of our educators who did amazing things in their virtual classrooms and were nominated for this recognition:
Gretchen Alvarez — Eisenhower Intermediate School
Allison Bausback — BRHS
Megan Bianchini — Crim Primary School
Kathy Bonjione — Van Holten Primary School
Colleen Buzby — BRHS
Pat Cahill — BRHS
Barron Caromano — Eisenhower Intermediate School
Antonina Caruso — Bradley Gardens Primary School
James Challandes — BRHS
Palma Challandes — Hamilton Primary School
Samantha Cichon — BRHS
Rosemary Coelho — JFK Primary School
Heather Colbert — BRHS
Beth Colucci — BRMS
Megan Corliss — BRMS
Alisa D’Ascensio — Van Holten Primary School
Avery Dandeo — BRHS
Courtney DeRosa — Van Holten Primary School
Jessica Diaz — Eisenhower Intermediate School
Charles Ezell — BRHS
Celina Fanik —BRHS
Carrie Feeney — BRHS
Lori Ferris — Van Holten Primary School
William Ferry — Hillside Intermediate School
Melissa Forina — Eisenhower Intermediate School
Mary Friar — Van Holten Primary School
Meghan Friedman — Milltown Primary School
Walter Gibbons — BRHS
Julie Gold — BRHS
Brian Goteiner — Van Holten Primary School
Michael Gum — Hillside Intermediate School
Rachel Hadley — Hamilton Primary School
Brittany Hando — Crim Primary School
Debra Henderson — BRMS
Paula Herbes — BRHS
Linda Hoinowski — Hillside Intermediate School
Deborah Huff — BRHS
Jaclynn Hurley — Eisenhower Intermediate School
Michele Incao —Van Holten Primary School
Sarah Javier — BRHS
Jessica Kaiser — BRHS
Courtney Kinnevey — Van Holten Primary School
Megan Kipila — Van Holten Primary School
Lilia Klubuk — BRHS
Kelly Kokotajlo — Van Holten Primary School
Paige Kopman — Van Holten Primary School
Emily Lloyd — Bradley Gardens Primary School
Jill Lonergan — Eisenhower Intermediate School
Stephanie Long — JFK Primary School
Jackie Loughridge — BRMS
Adrienne Lutz — BRHS
Anne Marie D'Andrade — Hamilton Primary School
Kristen Mehrbach — BRHS
Rachel Merino — Eisenhower Intermediate School
Kathalyn Messano — BRHS
Theodore Meyer — Hillside Intermediate School
Michele Mezzo — Eisenhower Intermediate School
Carol Munn — Eisenhower Intermediate School
Mark Palazzi — BRHS
Christine Peliotos — BRHS
Joan Pellegrino — BRHS
Jennifer PennisiJ — FK Primary School
Cheryl Pieroni — BRHS
Lydia Pinto — BRHS
Mallory Potosky — BRHS
Angela RandazzoJ — FK Primary School
Nicole Rasavage — Bradley Gardens Primary School
George Rauh — Van Holten Primary School
Katherine Rayburn — Bradley Gardens Primary School
Carolyn Richardson — Van Holten Primary School
Christina Roach — BRMS
Kimberly Rose — Bradley Gardens Primary School
Stephanie Rovi — Eisenhower Intermediate School
James Scmale — Van Holten Primary School
Stephanie Shomers — Bradley Gardens Primary School
Chris Steffner — BRMS
Teresita Tunkel — Hillside Intermediate School
Joanne Visicaro — Hillside Intermediate School
Joan Wagner — BRHS
Farrah Walters — BRHS
Paul Wargo — BRHS
Curt Weaver — Van Holten Primary School
Keith Weiss — BRHS
Quinn Whalen — Bradley Gardens Primary School
Marcie Wolfskehl — Van Holten Primary School
Suzanne Wooby — BRMS
Interested in learning how you can contribute to this specatcular foundation dedicated to helping our students? Visit edfoundbr.org