Summit High Teacher Surprised By 2026 Nora Radest Award

SUMMIT, NJ — A Summit High School teacher is being recognized for her impact in the classroom, and the moment she found out came as a complete surprise.

Meghan Arts-Scozzari, a Sculpture and Ceramics teacher at Summit High School, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Summit Educational Foundation’s Nora Radest Award for Excellence in Education. The award highlights educators who have used SEF grants to strengthen classroom learning and serve as a model for others in the district.

Arts-Scozzari said she had no idea the recognition was coming when it happened inside her classroom during a regular school period.

“I was in my room, getting my class period started amid the noise and movement that come with the start of an art class, when I noticed a different kind of commotion,” she said in an interview with Patch. “I looked up, and I saw my entire high school administration team in my doorway.”

She added that the surprise visit quickly made her realize something out of the ordinary was happening.

“It’s a weird feeling when the principal, two assistant principals, and a supervisor all just enter your classroom unannounced,” she said. “They had smiles on their faces, so I knew this wasn’t bad news. When the co-presidents, Ms. Daniel and Ms. Donnelly, began reading their remarks about the award, I was speechless.”

Arts-Scozzari, who has taught at Summit High School since 2012, has helped expand the school’s ceramics program into a multi-level course sequence that now includes Sculpture/Ceramics 1 and 2, Advanced Ceramics, and AP 3D Studio Art and Design.

She credited support from the Summit Educational Foundation for helping bring new tools and experiences into her classroom.

“I have so much gratitude for what the SEF has given me over the years,” she said. “It’s because of their support that I have been able even to imagine building such an awesome 3D program here.”

Over the years, SEF grants have helped fund equipment such as a pugmill for reclaiming clay, a slab roller, and an extruder, as well as more recent additions that support higher-level ceramics instruction.

Arts-Scozzari said her goal is to give students hands-on experience with professional tools and techniques while encouraging them to see art as a skill that develops over time.

“I want my students to work with real-world ceramics tools and equipment,” she said. “I want to show them all the things that are possible through creating with their hands. I try to instill in them that art is a skill to learn, not an unattainable talent for a select few.”

She also highlighted one of the more memorable experiences for students in the program: Raku firing workshops, where students get to see and participate in a traditional ceramics firing process.

“It has to happen outside because we fire our ceramics to 1800ºF and use a receptacle with combustibles to create a reduction atmosphere,” she said. “Students are taught how to add various effects to hot pottery, how to remove pieces from the kiln safely, and how to clean them for presentation. It is such a fun time.”

According to the Summit Educational Foundation, the Nora Radest Award was established in 2013 to honor former Summit mayor and SEF leader Nora Radest. The award is given annually to an educator who has enriched the classroom through SEF-funded grants and initiatives.

Arts-Scozzari was recognized with a certificate, a $500 award, and inclusion on SEF’s list of past recipients.

SEF said her work has helped strengthen Summit High School’s ceramics program and expanded opportunities for students across multiple grade levels.