2 Philadelphia Teachers Win 'Teacher As Hero' Award

PHILADELPHIA – Two Philadelphia teachers were announced as winners of the National Liberty Museum's 2018 "Teacher As Hero" Award.

Stetson Charter School teacher Tony Rocco and Roxborough High School teacher Derek Stevenson were among the 11 area-educators named winners.

The Teach As Hero award honors teachers for their extraordinary efforts that impact the lives of their students, schools, and communities.

The subcategories for nominees include Exceptional Teacher, Caring Classroom, Good Neighbor, and the Teacher as Hero Grand Prize.

Rocco, a middle school photography teacher at Stetson Charter, teaches his students photography as a life skill and as an appreciation of one another. He founded the non-profit, Photography without Borders which matches his Philadelphia students with students in Colombia. The Philadelphia students exchange letters and photos with the Colombian students to showcase daily life in the both areas.

Stevenson, a cinematography teacher at Roxborough High, helped found the State Farm Safe Driving PSA Project which works with Pennsylvania State Police, Lankenau Hospital and Main Line Health to educate on safe driving. The students then work with University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School of Communications to produce PSAs which are shown at school around prom season.

Stevenson, Rocco, and the other winners will be recognized at an award ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 5 at the museum, located at 321 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia.

Amy Andersen, a 2017 Teacher as Hero Award Winner, will serve as the keynote speaker for this year’s event. She received national attention for her work to found the American Sign Language program at Ocean City High School and has worked to make Ocean City, New Jersey a "deaf-friendly" town.

In addition to Stevenson being named a winner, these educators were also winners:

• Kevin Finan, Concord Elementary School
• Douglas Sexton, Bellmawr Park School
• Derek Stevenson, Roxborough High School
• Robert Graham, Keene Elementary School
• Marc Cutillo, William Tennent High School
• Dayna Kowalski, Greenwood Elementary School
• Christina Salazar, Bayard Rustin High School
• Theresa Hartey, Saint Basil Academy
• Thomas Reed, Lower Merion High School
• Laurie Thomas, Harriton High School

Winners are nominated by students, parents, peers, and community members to recognize them as educators who serve as role models in their respective communities.

The winners' stories will become part of a dedicated Museum exhibit in the National Liberty Museum’s "Live Like a Hero" Gallery for about a year.

"At the National Liberty Museum, we teach every visitor the vital role liberty plays in the fabric of our daily lives," Gwen Borowsky, CEO of the Museum, said. "We proudly honor these teachers for the work they do to inspire students and strengthen their communities beyond their important work in the classroom. We recognize these teachers as heroes for helping shape our nation’s next generation of leaders."

The award is sponsored by State Farm.

"State Farm has sponsored the Teacher as Hero awards since its inception and we have stood as a National Liberty Museum partner for the past 15 years," Dwayne Redd of State Farm said. "State Farm’s mission is to help people achieve their dreams and we believe that teachers are our steadfast partner in this goal. Teachers shape the values of a community through their lessons, inside and outside of the classroom. We are humbled by every one of this year’s distinguished award winners."

Congratulations to these outstanding educators!

Image via Shutterstock