Haddonfield Educator Named NJ State Teacher Of The Year

HADDONFIELD, NJ — An English teacher at Haddonfield Memorial High School has been named New Jersey’s Teacher of the Year for 2019-20, the state Department of Education announced on Wednesday.

Kimberly Dickstein, who was named Camden County Teacher of the Year in August, has been recognized as the top teacher in the state.

“You could not have chosen a finer, more deserving educator for this award than Kimberly Dickstein,” Haddonfield Superintendent of Schools Lawrence J. Mussoline said. “Kimberly has one speed: 100 m.p.h. She instills confidence in her students every day. She delves deeper than most into inquiry, and in the case of caring about and raising money for a former child soldier in Sudan, she brings content to life for her students. We are lucky to have her on staff and New Jersey is lucky to have her as the 2019-20 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year.”

“I have always felt the call to public service, and I can think of no better way to serve than in the classroom,” Dickstein said. “Being named New Jersey State Teacher of the Year is not only a great honor, but also a call to action. It is my hope to share this platform with as many educators as possible so that we can celebrate and recognize the great work happening in classrooms across the state.”

As Teacher of the Year, Dickstein will work with the New Jersey state Department of Education, give presentations around the state highlighting her passion for education and drive for success. She will also attend national conferences with other teachers of the year from other states.

Dickstein, who grew up in Camden County, was motivated to go into public service while she was in high school, after losing her best friend to cancer, according to the Department of Education. Her friend’s parents founded the Alicia Rose Victorious Foundation to create teen lounges, activities and events for adolescents with life-threatening illnesses.

Dickstein was motivated to become a teacher, and she earned her bachelor’s in English and Political Science from Rutgers College in 2008. She earned her master’s degree in English Secondary Education from Rutgers University in 2009.

For the past 11 years as an English teacher at Haddonfield Memorial High School, she has made reading an active experience for her students, connecting assigned texts with performances and service activities.

Her class attracted attention when it helped a former child soldier from South Sudan. The class connected with Garang Buk Buk Piol after studying a book about trauma endured by child soldiers.

Buk shared his experiences with the class via Skype. The class learned that he didn’t have enough money to attend a master’s program at Emory University, so they raised more than $80,000 to help him.

Phil Hughes, a volunteer with the Peace Corps, helped Dickstein and her class connect with Buk. Dickstein remained in close contact with Hughes, who started a business that supports small-scale farmers in Africa. On Saturday, they were married in the Haddonfield Memorial High School courtyard, and invited the entire community to attend.

“Kimberly exemplifies the love of teaching that we see among New Jersey educators,” State Board of Education President Kathy Goldenberg said. “Her enthusiasm isn’t contained just to her classroom; it encompasses her whole school community. I look forward to her continued contributions, where she will have the opportunity to share her passion with the entire state.”

Dickstein advises extracurricular activities at Haddonfield Memorial High School. This includes the Model United Nations, Stand With Camden, and the Shakespeare Troupe. Last year, her students competed on the national stage at the English Speaking Union’s National Shakespeare Competition.

She was also named a South Jersey SuperWoman by South Jersey Magazine in 2017. This year, she was awarded her the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Medal by Camden County, and she was recognized as a Princeton University Distinguished Secondary School Teacher.

“Teachers play a critical part in enriching the lives of New Jersey’s future leaders,” Gov. Phil Murphy said. “I applaud Kimberly for her dedication and commitment to prepare our students with the tools and support they need in order to succeed, not just in the classroom, but in the real world.”

“I commend Kimberly for her vision and her ability to not only make learning interesting, but meaningful to students,” Education Commissioner Lamont O. Repollet said. “We are proud to have this highly respected and fiercely dedicated educator represent New Jersey as its State Teacher of the Year.”

The other five New Jersey State Teacher of the Year finalists will be recognized at a State Board of Education recognition ceremony in December.

The finalists received the highest scores on their applications and their interviews with a distinguished panel of representatives from the state’s education associations and other stakeholder groups. The finalists are:

• Leah Jerome, 11th-12th grade social studies teacher for the Pascack Valley Regional High School District, Bergen County;
• Bryan Lowe, 5th grade teacher at Valley Road Elementary School, Clark School District, Union County;
• Yanelis Cabaleiro-Rempusheski, preschool special education teacher at School No. 3, Belleville School District, Essex County;
• Tracy Demarest, preschool-kindergarten special education teacher at the William Roper School, Woodstown-Pilesgrove School District, Salem County; and
• Jennifer Caputo, 5th grade teacher at the Helen Morgan Elementary School, Sparta Township School District, Sussex County.