Your Picks: Seven of Reading's Top Teachers

For this week’s Patch Picks, who your favorite teachers in town were, and we’re not the least bit surprised that we got a strong response to the question.

If our experience in town has told us anything, it’s that Reading residents are passionate about their schools.

Below, in no particular order, follow the teachers that our readers said deserve recognition.

Reader Sue Pryputniewicz nominated Mia Gaska, a fourth grade teacher at . Pryputniewicz said that Gaska deserved recognition for working long hours and “going above and beyond” to give all students a worthwhile challenge.

“She has even been known to support students at non-school-related extracurricular activities,” Pryputniewicz said.

Reader Kristina Patalano had a strong opinion on the matter.

“Hands down the best teacher in Reading is Miss Sarah Lentz at ,” Patalano said. “She has a way of making the students want to learn.”

Lentz is also quite helpful, Patalano said, particular with answering emails and phone calls promptly.

Other responders simply named teachers. Mary Beth McDonald named “Amy Burgoyne!!!!!!!!!” (we didn’t know Western names could have so many exclamation points in them); Laurie Tucker named William MacIndewar, a science teacher at and Neovi Plankey nominated Cheryl Davie, a teacher at School.

Julie Centrella seconded Plankey’s nomination of Cheryl Davie and added a few more at Birch Meadow: Rick Downes, Patty Beckman and Mrs. Thurnauer.

And Birch Meadow appears to have some passionate parents—or an unusually high concentration of Reading Patch users, as we had one more recommendation.

“Every teacher at Birch Meadow is tops on my list; they're all fantastic!” Liz Hamje Rogers said on our Facebook page.