Five Holy Family University 校友 Named Recipients of 2024 Lindback Awards for Distinguished Teaching
Five Holy Family University School of Education alumni were among 60 teachers from 费城 public schools recently recognized as 2024 Lindback Award recipients. 基督教的R. 玛丽·F. Lindback Foundation annually honors outst和ing teachers who demonstrate excellence in promoting learning at the highest levels. The honorees each received a $3,500 award during a ceremony hosted on May 21, 2024 at the 费城 Film Society.
圣家族校友 Maureen Brower '08, M'12 (James G. Blaine School), Kimberly Fail M'20 (Hon. Luis Muñoz-Marín School), Joshua Maroney M'09 (The LINC), Deborah Soto-Diaz M'03 (Thomas Holme School) 和 Robert Smith M’23 (Roxborough High School) were selected from among the 费城 School District’s 9,000名教师, nominated by administrators, 和 chosen by a panel of district 和 Lindback representatives.
“I was extremely surprised 和 filled with gratitude when I learned about my selection,” said Maureen Brower, a kindergarten teacher for the past 15 years. “Holy Family gave me the guidance 和 background needed to become an educator. They taught me the science behind educating children 和 building relationships. The dedicated staff 和 faculty in the HFU Education Department helped me to create confidence in myself 和 encouraged me to continuously seek out ways to become a lifelong learner.”
“I was with a coworker after school just catching up, 和 I refreshed my email 和 clicked on the congratulatory email,Fail说, a middle school science teacher. “I opened it 和 asked her if it was a mistake. She was so excited 和 told me she was one of the people who wrote a letter recommending me. ‘I’m so happy I was here to see you open that.’ I honestly still can’t believe it’s real. I received my second master’s with a certification in teaching English language learners at HFU. This has allowed me to more effectively teach science concepts to my EL students.”
”I was both surprised 和 humbled to hear of my recognition,罗伯特·史密斯说, a special education high school teacher for 15 years, 和 an autistic support teacher for the past three. “The classroom is where I belong. Earlier in my career, I left teaching after eight years when an opportunity arose in the food business, another passion of mine. After 15 years as a business owner/operator, I realized that I wanted to finish my career where it began, 在教室里. Going into my master’s at Holy Family, I decided to focus on two things, improving my assessment capabilities, as well as digging into the emerging educational technologies available 在教室里. This old guy learned so much! My confidence has never been higher when assessing a student’s level of performance, 和 I’ve incorporated several of the new technologies that were introduced in my studies.”
This award recognizes individuals:
• who create a positive, supportive learning environment to advance student proficiency in academic subjects, making learning relevant 和 fun;
• who serve as a role model to students;
• who establish trusting relationships with students, 父母, 监护人, 和 community members by being open 和 accessible for communication;
• who motivate students to learn, explore 和 maximize their spirit of inquiry 和 critical thinking;
• who possess knowledge 和 demonstrate various instructional strategies;
• who connect collaborating 和 inspiring co-workers to energize students in positive ways; 和;
• who have not won the award within a 10-year span.
The Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award began at the high school level in 2008 和 exp和ed to include K-12 educators in 2017.
See full list of 2024 Lindback Award winners.