KEANmag
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“Teaching is the foundation of every profession,” says Pittman, who
taught in the public school system for more than 10 years in South
Carolina, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Connecticut. “No one has ever
gotten anywhere without the power of influence of an educator. That
tenet is something I hold dearly; it is my driving force.”
The program, which was deemed absent of any need for improvement
during the last accreditation process, clearly works. Three of the past
four New Jersey State Teachers of the Year are graduates of Kean.
Most recently, Monica Goncalves ’07 was named the Union County
Teacher of the Year for 2016-17 by the New Jersey Education Association.
The social studies teacher at Linden High School who inspires her
students to achieve their best, is also the chairwoman of the Social
Studies Department and the coordinator of the Bias & Prejudice
Reduction program, a role that reflects Kean’s goal of educating the
whole student and to be responsible global citizens.
“Teaching is not a job, it is a calling,” said Goncalves. “Only those who
view teaching as a calling can truly succeed as a teacher.”
Goncalves, who was also the recipient of the Union County Human
Relations Commission’s Unity Achievement Award in 2013, recalled
hearing one of her favorite high school teachers saying that he hadn’t
had to work a day in his life. “Oddly enough, I was not perplexed by this
comment. I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I had Mr. Figueiredo
as my fourth-grade teacher. Mr. Figueiredo was the first teacher who
looked at me as an individual and saw the potential. I had been hiding
behind the insecure young child who had just learned to speak English
a couple years before,” said Goncalves, who is also involved in the
National Honor Society, the Law Day and Mock Election, the Graduation
Committee, Middle States committee, and the Special Coordination of
Professional Enrichment Team.
Goncalves follows in the footsteps of several of her fellow alumni: Union
County’s Teacher of the Year (2015-2016) Janice Marsili ’94M, the lead
teacher of fine and performing arts at David Brearley High School in
Kenilworth; New Jersey State Teacher of the Year (2014-15) Mark Mautone
’02, a special education teacher leading his district’s Applied Behavior
Analysis Program in Hudson County; New Jersey State Teacher of the
Year (2013-14) Kathleen Assini, an eighth-grade social studies teacher at
Delsea Regional Middle and High School; New Jersey State Teacher of
the Year (2012-13) Lauren Marrocco ‘09M, an Edward J. Patton Elementary
School teacher; and Karen Ginty ‘78M, a former Monmouth Beach School
kindergarten teacher who was the New Jersey State Teacher of the Year in
2007 and then named a Distinguished Alumna the following year.
Separately, Mark Friedrich ’09 MA received the 2016 High School Physical
Education Teacher of the Year Award from The New Jersey Association
for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance for his work as the
Health & Physical Education lead teacher at Millburn High School.
As for the future of the College, Dr. Pittman said he and his staff will
continue to forge new partnerships with school districts and maintain
positive relationships with existing schools. “The future for teaching
is very bright. There will always be a need for great teachers, and that
keeps me optimistic.”
“Education is not the
filling of a pail. It is
the lighting of a fire.”
- Maya Angelou
(left) Kathy Assini '01, New Jersey's 2013-14 State Teacher of the Year, met with President Obama in te White House.
(above) Kean's booth at the NJEA Convention welcomes alumni from all over the state.
