Recently, a committee of individuals met to discuss the significant number of nominations received regarding the Princeton University Distinguished Secondary School Teaching Award. Based on much discussion and deliberation amongst the members of that committee, it is my distinct honor to announce the Montville Township High School recipient of the Princeton University Distinguished Secondary School Teaching Award—Mrs. Cheryl Evans. While I can speak of her tremendous commitment to students and their education, it is the words of her peers that I feel capture, most effectively, her impact on the MTHS community:
[Excerpt from nominations]
On behalf of Mrs. Cheryl Evans…
“Cheryl demonstrates a genuine passion for teaching and advocates for all of her students to be successful in math. She makes herself available to all of her students for extra help and works with students and parents to individualize each student's learning experience. I am inspired by the dedication she shows everyday and truly enjoy working with her. She also actively contributes to the MTHS community, creating and teaching staff and faculty a flash mob routine that surprised all the students at the winter prep rally last year.”
“She certainly is an exceptionally skilled and dedicated teacher. I have seen her extend herself to those students who were so difficult to reach. Yet, she was able to break through their blocks and set a foundation for their future success. This was often not an easy task. In fact, it further brought out another quality of Cheryl – patience. Her focus and concern for those individuals did not falter, at times requiring her patient care and concern throughout the year. What’s more, her attentive work with her students allowed her to observe and address student needs early on in the school year. She problem-solved (no pun intended) the individual's needs and [identified] strategies that would best assist his/her needs. I am in awe of what she has accomplished with our students. While our students often may not express their appreciation, I have heard positive comments about her efforts. Indeed, I have seen students transformed from those who have difficulty with math to ones that actually feel good about solving problems – and these changes could be attributed to Cheryl’s efforts. Poised, eloquent, and respected – she completes what she does while portraying those qualifiers.”
“I have been lucky to work close with Cheryl Evans inside and outside of the classroom. Cheryl always researches and implements the effective and innovative lesson materials to upgrade her lesson plans every year. Her lesson plans are student-centered and differentiated for her students' different learning styles and skills. Cheryl tries new instructional technologies to find the best fit for her students. Cheryl always learns and seeks for the ways to improve her students learning. Cheryl makes herself available for her students and goes above and beyond to deliver the very best education to her students.”
Mrs. Evans will represent MTHS in the continuing competition, hosted by Princeton University. A very small number of teachers will be selected and recognized at the Commencement Exercises this coming spring.