Chernoski Is DeVeer Award Recipient

Millburn Middle School teacher Stephen Chernoski was awarded the Sally S. DeVeer Award for Excellence in Teaching Award during Monday's graduation.

The award is given yearly to a teacher at graduation and typically is rotated between each level of schools. The recipient's name is held in secret until graduation.

Chernoski has been a member of the Middle School faculty for five years and is a leadership teacher. In his position he provides instruction to all sixth graders about character education, positive communication and conflict resolution. He also researched and wrote a new curriculum this year for an eighth grade cycle class called Global Issues, which continues the character education strand through the study of historical events, including the Holocaust and other genocides. He presented to the Board of Education last winter about the Global Issues course.

Chernoski had also written another leadership course when the eighth grade program provided for longer elective classes. The course asked the question, "What on this Earth will be better because of you?" and explored issues on the environment, foreign affairs, pop culture, technological innovations and local affairs.

Chernoski has been one of the Peer Leadership Program's coordinators since he came to Millburn. He leads an afterschool Peer Leadership group known as LENS whose students create short films on various community or global issues.

Chernoski has directed his own film titled, "New Jersey The Movie," which premiered last year, about the eclectic nature of living in New Jersey depending on where one resides.

The Sally S. DeVeer award is named in memory of DeVeer, who was a member of the Millburn Board of Education from 1985-1994. The award has been given in her name since 1994.