Hopatcong Teacher in Race for State's Teacher of the Year Award

The walls in Danielle Kovach's home are filled with tests, quizzes and pictures—a tribute to her children's schoolwork. So there's no room for the certificates the state and the New Jersey Education Association gave her when she was named Sussex County's Teacher of the Year.

But Kovach, a Tulsa Trail special education instructor, might consider freeing some space if she's named the state's Teacher of the Year. She made the top-five list and a couple weeks ago answered questions from judges in Trenton.

Kovach expects to learn if she made the final two sometime this month. More than a few of her colleagues think she's worthy of the honor.

"Mrs. Kovach possesses rare qualities," Tulsa Trail Acting Principal Joseph Memoli said. "She dares to be innovative. She has imagination. She works extremely well with people. And she is caring and compassionate with the children.

"She readily shares her expertise with her colleagues. And anytime we have a special project, she's in the forefront, willing to help."

Second-grade teacher Alison Ibaceta agreed.

"She's so creative," Ibaceta said. "She just knows how to get through to the kids. …I've seen her teach it all.

"I am constantly stealing her ideas. Point blank: I'm like, 'Didn't you do this last year? Oh, give me that book!' She takes so much time to really think of things that are so creative and eye-catching and make the kids want to learn."

Kovach, who holds two master's degrees, has taught in Hopatcong since 1997. The 35-year-old Roxbury native has earned about $30,000 in grants over that span.

But Kovach's biggest accomplishment may have come last year when she created a project called "Superheroes of Safety." The project helped her win a $10,000 classroom makeover grant from Honeywell.

Shortly after winning the grant, former Tulsa Trail Principal Jeffrey Nesnay nominated Kovach as Hopatcong's Teacher of the Year. And after she won that award, she was given Sussex County's top teaching honor.

Winners from all 21 counties were then thrown into the state's Teacher of the Year competition. Kovach said her platform was simple: child safety.

"[I went] to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and it was there that it changed the way I [taught], changed the way I parented. It was such an eye-opener."

Kovach said she never thought she'd be in the running for such a prestigious award.

"If you asked me a year ago if I would be in this situation, I would have said, 'No way,'" she said. "I work with the most wonderful, awesome teachers that you can imagine. For me to be singled out as a teacher of the year, it wouldn't have crossed my mind.

"It's definitely surreal."

Kovach said it got real, however, when she faced the judges in Trenton. She stood before 10 people sitting at a long desk, firing questions at her. What were her thoughts on technology? What did she think about the No Child Left Behind Act?

"I did the best I could," she said. "It was probably one of the most nerve-wracking things of my career. I thought thesis writing was bad. But this topped it."

But Kovach said she thinks she did well. She just hopes it was well enough to get to the next round, in which the state's education commissioner chooses the Teacher of the Year.

"I'm just taking it all in stride," she said. "Just to get that far in itself, I think, is a huge accomplishment."

And an even bigger accomplishment might earn a spot on her wall.

Editor's note: To learn more about Danielle Kovach and her teachings, check www.kovachkids.com.