4th Grade Teacher Named Top Educator At Eleanor Rush School

CINNAMINSON, NJ — Teaching wasn’t Erin Zarzykci’s first choice. Although she comes from a long line of educators, Zarzycki thought her path in life would be that of a journalist. However, after two years in the field, she quickly realized that wasn’t the life for her.

Once she finally realized education was her calling in life, she went through night school and went on to become a teacher in Philadelphia. Three years later, she found herself teaching in Cinnaminson. And 18 years after going into the industry she once avoided, Zarzycki is being recognized for her talent.

Zarzycki is one of the district's Governor's Educator of the Year and the Educational Services Professional award recipients. The program "highlights educational innovation, student achievement, the rewards of teaching, and important services outside the classroom environment that lead to student success," according to the state's website.

“I’m grateful and surprised,” Zarzycki said of the recognition. “I’m humbled. It’s nice to be recognized after 18 years of teaching.”

When she decided to make the career switch, she said her husband was supportive, which was crucial as the endeavor included two and a half years of night classes. Her parents, who are both teachers, were thrilled.

“When I told them I was going into teaching, they said, ‘we knew it!,’” Zarzycki said.

When she started, Zarzycki taught full-day kindergarten for two years and first grade for one year in Philadelphia. When she came to Cinnaminson, she taught first grade for eight years before moving on to the Eleanor Rush Intermediate School to teach fourth grade.

She says she’s always exploring best practices, making adjustments in her presentations and expectations. She brings technology into the classroom via Chromebooks, kindles and smart boards.

Zarzycki has taken her classes on trips to The Palmyra Nature Center for the Water Festival, to Camp Ockanickon for a full day of outdoor education, and to see a musical of a novel they read, Number the Stars, at the Haddonfield Plays and Players Theater.

She is always procuring grants through the Cinnaminson Education Foundation, which allows her to take her classes to The Alice Paul House and have the author of the Nicky Fifth series, Lisa Funari-Willever, come in for an assembly.

The administration inspires and supports the district’s teachers with grant writing and other aspects of teaching, she said. The teachers also all support each other, coming together when the need arises and meeting weekly to discuss education as a grade.

Each school in the district has a Teacher of the Year award winner. They will all attend a countywide recognition event in the spring, and will be honored at the May 12 Cinnaminson Board of Education meeting. Read more here: Cinnaminson Schools Announce Educators Of The Year

Next, each county will select a teacher of the year, with a state teacher of the year being named in the fall. Last year, Haddonfield's Kimberly Dickstein was named the New Jersey State Teacher of the Year.

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Reading Teacher Named Top Educator At Cinnaminson Middle School