Teachers Receive Top Honors in Westfield

WESTFIELD, NJ — Several Westfield educators were recognized this week during a Board of Education meeting with district and community awards honoring their work in the classroom.

The awards highlighted teaching achievement and long-term service across the district.

Jeffrey Knight, a social studies teacher at Westfield High School, received the Jeffrey Family Above and Beyond Award.

“Education is more than data points, test scores and college placement,” Knight said. “It’s not just a business. We’re helping raise future generations.”

He said teachers should focus on how they interact with students.

“Make it about the kids,” he said.

At Roosevelt Intermediate School, mathematics teacher Linda Morrison received the Optimist Club’s Outstanding Intermediate School Teacher Award.

Morrison, who has taught in the district for 30 years, said relationships formed in school often continue after students graduate.

She shared examples of former students attending personal milestones and remaining in contact years later.

Leah Jarvis, a visual and performing arts teacher at Westfield High School, received the PTSO Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award.

Jarvis, who has taught in the district for 37 years, said she has taught children of former students and, in some cases, works alongside former students who have returned to the district as staff.

She said her classroom has remained connected to multiple generations of families in Westfield.

Additionally, several other Westfield educators were recognized during the ceremony for district and community awards:

• Nicole Barca, a third-grade teacher at McKinley Elementary School, received the Rotary Club’s Charles Philhower Fellowship.
• Jessica Mikovits, an English Language Arts teacher at Edison Intermediate School, received the Optimist Club’s Intermediate School Outstanding Teacher Award.
• James Rowan, a World Languages Latin teacher at Westfield High School, received the Robert and Linda Foose Memorial Award.
• Caitlin Cheddar, an English teacher at Westfield High School, received the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award.