Teachers of the Year

Photo by John Armato

Teacher of the Year awards include a trophy and a T-shirt. The district Teacher of the Year gets the clock.

You don't have to look hard on the Internet, especially on The Mercury's web site, to find people criticizing teachers for having it easy, making big money, only working 10 months a year.

You usually don't hear from those people when we read about the Newtown shootings, and the teachers there acting as human shields to protect their students; or those who saved and calmed children during the recent Oklahoma tornado.

The truth is, they are, like so many other classes of people, or professions, filled with good and bad, competent and not, and those who are a combination of those things on different days.

But on this day (or Monday to be specific) it was teacher excellence being recognized in Pottstown, for the annual Teacher of the Year ceremony.

Each school nominates a Teacher of the Year for their building and then a district-wide teacher is selected from among that pool.

This year's pool featured Jaime Stringer from Barth Elementary; Lori Freese from Franklin Elementary; Diana Hofmanner from Edgewood Elementary; Jennifer Groff from Lincoln Elementary; Natalie Pileggi from Rupert Elementary; Ginger Angelo from Pottstown Middle School and Mark Agnew from Pottstown High School.

Here they are:

Photo by John Armato

From left are Mark Agnew, Pottstown High School, Jaime Stringer from Barth, Diana Hofmanner from Edgewood, Lori Freese from Franklin; Jennifer Groff from Lincoln; Natalie Pilerggi from Rupert and Ginger Angelo from Pottstown Middle School.

From that pool the administration selects the district Teacher of the Year.

Pottstown Superintendent Jeff Sparagana with the district's
Teacher of the Year, Diana Hofmanner.

This year's winner is Diana Hofmanner from Edgewood Elementary.

In her nominating form, Hofmanner was described as a teacher "who carries out all responsibilities with a high degree of professionalism, pride and enthusiasm."

Hofmanner "adapts to the ever-changing initiatives that occur at the elementary level and accepts these changes with a positive attitude. It is second nature for Mrs. Hofmanner to adjust her teaching strategies to accommodate the needs of all students in her classroom," according to her nomination.

Hofmanner "has welcomed the opportunity to work with co-teaching and grade-level partners, building principal, intervention team, speech therapist, occupational therapist and the entire building staff and faculty to carry out her responsibilities as an effective educator."

Here's a quick video of Hofmanner accepting the award from Superintendent Jeff Sparagana.