Adamsville Teacher and Educational Services Professional honored

The pride of the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District was honored at the Staff Recognition Reception on Tuesday, May 2.

The highly popular ceremony, which drew over 150 administrators, board of education members, staff and teachers as well as families from the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, was held at the Somerville Elks Lodge.

The event was held to honor the 2022-2023 Governor’s Teachers of the Year and the Governor’s Educational Services Professionals for all 11 schools in the school district.

A total of 22 staffers—two from each school–were honored for their achievements and passion as members of the school district.

The ceremony was funded by the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association (BREA) and was held for the first time at the Elks Lodge after the previous ceremonies were performed at Bridgewater-Raritan High School cafeteria.

Superintendent Bob Beers opened the festivities with his usual upbeat remarks.

“It is our great pleasure to honor the dedication to your craft that you do every day,” Superintendent Beers announced. “Thank you for the dedication and impact that you have on our children.”

He continued.

“Teaching is a lifestyle and you do need the support of your family. We thank your families for that support.”

Laura Kress, the President of the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association, followed Superintendent Beers to greet the award winners and the audience.

“This ceremony is our (BREA) most pleasurable event,” Ms. Kress revealed. “Thank you to Suzanne (Klos) for putting this on.”

Ms. Klos’ title is Executive Secretary to the Superintendent but she is arguably one of the school district’s most valuable staff members.

She coordinated the ceremony and the new venue for the 2023 reception was well received by all.

Ms. Kress, a Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School Teacher, praised her peers.

“I look at our primary school teachers and what a miracle that they do to teach our kids to read. It is amazing and we teach more than the curriculum. We teach how to forgive and how to have compassion. Life’s lessons help us all grow,” she explained. “We learn from our students and you all play a key role.”

Ms. Kress added:

“You all are the best of the best.”

Each of the 11 school principals introduced their Teacher of the Year and their Educational Services Professionals of the Year.

Members of the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District Board of Education assisted with the presentation of gifts to the recipients.

 Principal Matt Lembo of the Milltown Primary School could not attend the affair but he was substituted at the podium by Dr. Dan Fonder, the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel, who introduced the two recipients from that school.

Here are the profiles of the Adamsville Primary School Teacher of the Year, Meghan De La Rosa, and the Educational Services Professional of the Year, Maryellen Filep.

Meghan De La Rosa

Adamsville Primary School            
English as Secondary Language Teacher

We are honored to announce that Ms. Meghan De La Rosa is Adamsville Primary School’s Governor Educator of the Year for the 2022-2023 school year. She has worked in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District for the last 11 years as a bilingual and ESL teacher. For the past six years, Meghan has been a 4th grade ESL teacher.

Meghan is one of the most caring and understanding educators anyone would ever encounter. She goes above and beyond to support all her students. Many Adamsville students speak another language, 29 different languages to be exact, and Meghan is often found, when not delivering instruction, in the main office or with the nurse translating to our Spanish-speaking families. She has assisted in parent-teacher conferences, parent workshops, and student social groups. 

For many of our families, Meghan is one of the first individuals to help build the connection between the home and school. Meghan describes connecting with families by speaking their language as a gift. She has gotten to know many of our families’ stories, and helped them through some difficult times.

Meghan states, “My students are my motivation. I love watching their faces when a new idea clicks, when they are loving what they’re learning, and when they’re sharing their lives with me. It is an amazing feeling watching each student grow throughout each school year. Teaching gives me the opportunity to share the world with my students. I love being able to shape growing minds, while also being able to learn new things myself. Adamsville is a diverse, loving and accepting community. Our students are proud of who they are and where they come from. I love listening to their stories about traditions and celebrations from their culture. How lucky are our students that they get to grow up knowing so many different backgrounds.”

 

Maryellen Filep

Adamsville Primary School
Learning Consultant

With pride and admiration, the Adamsville Primary School staff recognizes Ms. Maryellen Filep as Adamsville’s Educational Services Professional of the Year.  Maryellen graduated from Marist College with a BA in Psychology and dual teaching certification in both general and special education. She earned her master’s degree in special education with a concentration in learning disabilities from Teachers College, Columbia University. She also obtained a certificate in autism from Purdue University and is currently working on obtaining her doctorate in education. Prior to becoming a learning consultant at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, Maryellen was a special education teacher in New York City. 

Adamsville has the largest pre-school and pre-school disabled program in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District and it couldn’t be as successful as it is without the passion, work ethic, support, and leadership of Maryellen. On almost a daily basis she collaborates with teachers, occupational therapists, speech therapists, teaching assistants, parents, students, case managers, administrators, and transportation to ensure that our students’ needs are being met. She decisively makes decisions to ensure that all our students are provided with the most appropriate learning environment so they may gain the skills that many of us take for granted such as; walking, eating, and communicating. She exemplifies what one person can do to make a difference.

When informed about being Adamsville’s Educational Services Professional of the Year Maryellen stated, “It is an honor to work with the amazing staff at Adamsville School. Within the preschool program, we provide each student with the early intervention that they need to build a foundation to be successful in the future. The children within our program grow and develop daily. Their daily successes are the motivation that I need to continue working in education.” 

Here are our award winners from each of the 11 schools in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District. Their teaching/staff position is listed after their name.

GOVERNOR’S EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR 2022-2023

ADAMSVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Meghan De La Rosa, English as a Second Language

 

BRADLEY GARDENS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Kathryn Kaye, Special Education Teacher

 

CRIM PRIMARY SCHOOL

Abigail Goldstein, Grade 2 Teacher

 

HAMILTON PRIMARY SCHOOL

Tammy Miller, Grade 4 Teacher

 

JOHN F. KENNEDY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Robert Cirino, Health and Physical Education Teacher

 

MILLTOWN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Danielle Caulfied, Grade 1 Teacher

VAN HOLTEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Matthew Swinsburg, Grade 3 Teacher

 

EISENHOWER INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

Deborah Ronning, Grade 5 Teacher

 

HILLSIDE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

Carmelina Geiger, Grade 5 Teacher

 

BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Sarah Martin, English/Language Arts Teacher

 

BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN HIGH SCHOOL

James Olivola, Teacher of Mathematics

 

GOVERNOR’S EDUCATIONAL SERVICES PROFESSIONAL AWARD FOR 2022-2023

ADAMSVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Maryellen Filep, Learning Disabilities Teaching Consultant

 

BRADLEY GARDENS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Katherine Rayburn, Media Specialist

 

CRIM PRIMARY SCHOOL

Gretchen English, School Nurse

 

HAMILTON PRIMARY SCHOOL

Sharon Fargo, Speech Language Specialist

 

JOHN F. KENNEDY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Linda O’Brien, Intervention Specialist

 

MILLTOWN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Theresa Torraca-Sheats, Instructional Specialist

 

VAN HOLTEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Shawn Danus, Intervention Specialist

 

EISENHOWER INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

Alice Piscadlo, School Counselor

 

HILLSIDE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

Kinjal Barad, Instructional Assistant

 

BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Kelley Beahan, Learning Disabilities Teaching Consultant

 

BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN HIGH SCHOOL

Erin Lowman, School Psychologist

Below is a link that contains the Staff Recognition Reception program, which includes the bios on all 22 award winners, 

2022-2023 Staff Recognition Award Booklet