Janine Quimby, Language Arts Teacher

Janine Quimby, Language Arts Teacher, was named Ridge High School Teacher of the Year for 2018. Quimby currently teaches 12th grade Honors World Literature, 11th grade AP Language and Composition and 11th grade College Prep British Literature and has been teaching at Ridge High School since 2007. In the eight years Quimby has taught AP Language and Composition, her students have passed the advanced placement exam at a rate of 95% or higher and for the past several years, her students have achieved a 100% pass rate, with the majority achieving a score of 4 or 5.

In the classroom, Quimby is committed to offering a variety of instructional and assessment methods and strives to be innovative and to tailor her instruction to best suit the needs of the students in her classroom. Incorporating student choice and using interdisciplinary methods are both passions of hers, and she has paired with several teachers at Ridge to complete interdisciplinary lessons incorporating Italian and Spanish languages and culture into the study of relevant written works. Quimby has been commended by administrators on her ability to be congenial with students while also setting high expectations. She believes “it’s important to students to be both challenged and respected in the classroom” and Quimby “pride[s] [her]self [on] being an authentic teacher,” “[setting] high expectations from the first day” but also being “approachable [so that students] feel that they can seek [Quimby] out should they have issues.” Quimby asserts that “[h]aving genuine conversations with students definitely helps establish an environment that’s conducive to learning.”

In addition to her role as a teacher, Quimby serves the Ridge and greater education community in many ways. She has served as advisor of several clubs, co-founding and previously advising the Ridge Ethics Club after being approached by a group of students expressing an interest in discussing ethical dilemmas adolescents face. For the past six years, she coordinated the Dodge Poetry Festival bi-annual field trips. She advises the Ridge High School Feminist Club and has served as class advisor for the Class of 2016 and Class of 2021. Quimby is a member of the Graduation Speech Committee, Governor’s School Selection Committee, Junior Book Awards Committee, and the RHS School Safety Team.

Quimby is described by her colleagues as “brilliant, a leader of students and teachers, a scholar who sends you secretly to your phone to google that word she just said….a creative, passionate, emotionally invested teacher….very personable...sincere and candid, while her overall demeanor instills respect for the class, for herself and for the pursuit of learning.” Another colleague remarked on “her willingness to collaborate” describing her as a “hard worker and team player” and stating that “her dedication, and desire to be the best, in both the academic and extracurricular realms, is not only admirable, but also contagious.” Quimby “contributes to the Ridge community in so many ways: teacher, colleague, union rep, club adviser, class adviser, advocate of students, of teachers and of the profession.” Quimby “has evolved into a pillar of the Ridge community.”

Within Bernards Township, Quimby shares her love of learning with her colleagues, teaching several in-house professional development courses and co-teaching a clinic of the benefits of interdisciplinary instruction for students. She has similarly instructed full-length courses for staff on higher-level questioning and offering student choice in the curriculum. Quimby has also contributed to courses at her alma mater, participating in one of the “How To Teach…” seminars: a program where alumni from the English and Secondary Education program return to offer a workshop to aspiring and novice teachers and also taught a course titled “How To Teach Postmodern Literature.” Quimby was invited to sit on a panel with other secondary teachers at TCNJ’s Annual Accepted Students Day to answer questions about the English and Secondary Education Program and discuss how graduates can maximize an English degree. State-wide, Quimby was one of three Bernards Township teachers to attend the New Jersey Department of Education to discuss the Pilot Program for teacher observations. Nationally, she has represented her teacher’s union at the National Education Association Representative Assembly (NEA RA), the world’s largest representative assembly, and the medium through which members discuss key issues regarding public education. Quimby is most proud of her role as the chair of the Bernards Township Education Association Public Relations Committee, through which she improves morale for teachers, highlighting her colleagues’ and students’ accomplishments to the community, providing sweet treats to colleagues on special occasions and showcasing bulletin boards with ideas to “Throw Kindness Around like Confetti” or “What’s on Your Summer Bucket List” to facilitate camaraderie and set an example for students of a positive and collegiate working atmosphere. Of her PR efforts, one colleague remarked, “I never realized how much looking at these quotes on my way to fill my water bottle each day could rekindle hope or make me remember my calling as a teacher. I know that [Quimby’s] efforts have nurtured my spirit….”

Quimby, who graduated from Colonia High School, earned her Bachelor degree in English and Secondary Education from The College of New Jersey. After beginning her teaching career at Ridge, Quimby returned to TCNJ and completed her Masters in English. Quimby is currently matriculated in Drew’s Doctor of Arts and Letters (D. Litt) program. She has also completed 30 post-Masters credits in Secondary Education.

Quimby, an Annandale resident, and mother of two young children, Lucas and Rosaline, is married to fellow educator, TJ Quimby who teaches middle school Language Arts in the Hillsborough school district.

Reflecting on her contributions to Ridge, a colleague describes Quimby as “a dynamo inside and outside of the classroom,” and one who “deserves to be acknowledged for her years of dedication to her students, to the staff, and to the academic community at large.”

Ridge High School's Teacher of the Year is selected by a committee of previous recipients; nominees for this award are recommended by fellow colleagues.