Hillsborough Local Honored As 2023 Goddard School Teacher Of The Year

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Jean Patrick from The Goddard School of Hillsborough was named as a 2023 Goddard School Teacher of the Year Award.

Patrick provides activities that stimulate language, learning and social-emotional growth with an endless amount of patience for the students in her toddler program. She consistently goes above and beyond, assisting countless families in finding speech or occupational therapy support as well as tirelessly working outside of school hours to ensure her classroom is an environment where children can thrive.

"I’m thrilled to be named a 2023 Goddard School Teacher of the Year," said Patrick. "It’s been such a pleasure to help toddlers learn and grow each day for nearly 24 years as a part of this community. Thank you to the families and colleagues who nominated me for this award."

Patrick joins 15 other teachers nationwide who were selected from more than 3,100 nominations for their embodiment of competence, leadership, creativity and a nurturing demeanor. All 16 regional winners created strong bonds between home and school and incorporated their own passions into their teaching while continuing to ensure the health and safety of their students.

"A child’s social and emotional development is just as crucial as their academic growth, and these teachers exemplify perfecting that partnership through early childhood education," said Dr. Lauren Starnes, senior vice president and chief academic officer, GSL. "We are so appreciative of their commitment to fully preparing their students for the next steps in both their academic and life journeys. We can’t thank them enough for all that they do for their students and families."

In addition to being named a 2023 Teacher of the Year, GSL gifted each of the regional winners a $1,000 cash award and dedicated a custom set of Life Lesson Library books, Goddard’s exclusive social-emotional development program, to each school in the teacher’s name.

For more information about The Goddard School and the Teacher of the Year Awards, visit GoddardSchool.com.