Meet The Livingston Teacher Up For N.J. 'Teacher Of The Year'

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The next New Jersey Teacher of the Year may come from Livingston.

Mary Walmsley, a science teacher at Livingston High School, was first selected as one of New Jersey’s County Teachers of the Year at the school level through the Governor's Educator of the Year program. Candidates compete for county recognition and are selected by panels representing a cross-section of administrators, teachers, parents, and county education association representatives convened by the department's Executive County Superintendents.

A state-level panel of educators will announce New Jersey's overall Teacher of the Year at the state Board of Education's October meeting.

Walmsley is an accomplished science teacher at Livingston High School, district administrators said.

“It was an easy decision to make,” said Neal Webster, the county education specialist with the state Department of Education who led a parade of school leaders to the high school’s science wing on April 4, surprising Walmsley at the beginning of class.

Here’s what Livingston school administrators had to say about Walmsley following her nomination (read the full story here):

“Teaching at Livingston High School for the past 19 years, Mrs. Walmsley is respected for her creative hands-on projects, from having students grow yeast to solving crime scenes… Mrs. Walmsley holds a master's degree in science from Colorado State University, where she studied insect parasites of the alfalfa weevil. Early in her professional career, she worked as laboratory assistant for the Texas A&M University Satellite Research Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. Later, she volunteered for the Nature Conservancy in Chicago, Illinois, where she led a project to add to the insect tally in a tall grass prairie biome. Moving to New Jersey, Mrs. Walmsley earned a degree in science education from St. Elizabeth College in Madison. At Livingston High School, she serves as a mentor for biology teachers, and has extensive expertise in curriculum development for all levels of biology and Forensic Science. She is adviser for the LHS chapter of the Science National Honor Society.”

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Photos: Livingston Public School District