On June 10th at our annual Ice Cream Social, we awarded two deserving individuals our Professional of the Year award and our Outstanding Professional award. From a list of submissions forwarded by our members we selected Meredith Adams as our Professional of the Year and Karen Pisani as our Outstanding Professional. Both women are teachers in Delaware County, Meredith as a Special Education teacher at Strath Haven Middle School and Karen as a Regular Education teacher at Grace Park Elementary school.

What we admired most about these women was their tireless commitment and enthusiasm for their profession. From Meredith's nomination letter we see a person dedicated and compassionate towards her work: "Meredith exemplifies what it means to be a truly gifted teacher.  She challenges the children academically, utilizes creative and intuitive strategies and is always positive and encouraging,  She is a tireless advocate for our children, networking and reaching out to their typical peers and other teachers in ways that enhance their school experience.  Meredith has developed special curriculum to assist teachers of regular education who work with her students and has also formed an inclusive after-school club in which may typical students join our kids weekly to participate in games, activities, sports, dance and service projects."

From Karen's nomination letter we see an equally dedicated professional, and one who has personally grown as a result of the day to day challenges she faces. "She has gone above and beyond to include him (our son) in class this year. She has gotten him a computer for his classroom and used free sites to adapt the curriculum. He is finely receiving science and social study instruction with his peers. She told me at the parent teacher conference that she is a better teacher because of Nicholas. She also said 'I am the teacher that I always knew I could be'. She spends extra hours in her week and weekend preparing for him. She was instrumental in getting the next year’s teacher to the IEP this year. She has offered to help her prepare for Nicholas next year. She is an asset to her profession and has been wonderful to my son."

As a result of their nominations both teachers received a certificate as well as a cash award, and a letter of recognition sent to their respective school principles. Join us in congratulating these two deserving individuals and consider for a moment the difference these women have made not only in the lives of the children they inspire but to the community as a whole.

Professional of the Year, Meredith Adams, with some of her students.

Outstanding Professional, Karen Pisani, with Darlene and Katrina.