Brick Schools Honor Educators, Service Professionals Of The Year

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township School District paid tribute to the district's Governor's Educators of the Year and Education Service Professionals with a video shared with students, staff and families.

A video honoring all of the teachers was shared at the May Board of Education meeting; the common theme among all of the teachers and support professionals was that their relationships with students is critical to helping their students reach their potential. (See the video at the bottom of this article.)

The district's overall teacher of the year is Erika Karu of Brick Township High School. She started college intending to teach English, and later switched to math, thinking she would teach elementary school. She has been a math teacher for special needs students for several years.

"You may not end up where you were going, but you will always end up where you are meant to be," she said during the meeting, sharing a favorite quote.

The honorees by school were:

• Warren H Wolf Preschool: Teacher, Julianne Moore; educational services professional, Sara Wight
• Herbertsville Preschool: Teacher, Janet Tischio; educational services professional, Baiba Grinvalds
• Osbornville Elementary: Teacher, Michele Baughman; educational services professional, Brett Novick
• Lanes Mill Elementary: Teacher, Diane Ehlers; educational services professional, Jason Jacobus
• Drum Point Elementary: Teacher, Kathleen Koehler; educational services professional, Rita Knittel
• Emma Havens Elementary: Teacher, Michael Day; educational services professional, Colleen Straniero
• Midstreams Elementary: Teacher, Ashley Ernest; educational services professional, Diane O'Neill
• Veterans Elementary: Teacher, Michelle Warren; educational services professional, Shanan Ferriera
• Lake Riviera Middle: Teacher, Kelly Sperling; educational services professional, Kyleen Lauretta
• Veterans Middle: Teacher, Christopher Seidelman; educational services professional, Stacey Elmendorf
• Brick Memorial High: Teacher, Ben Schaible; educational services professional, Tracey Reinhard
• Brick Township High: Teacher, Erika Karu; educational services professional, Angela Smith