Each year the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English (NJCTE) recognizes an exceptional English/language arts educator — a dedicated, innovative, dynamic educator whose activities have significantly and widely impacted New Jersey English language arts education. The selected educator becomes eligible as well for a coveted New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education.
NJCTE is proud to announce that the 2018 Educator of the Year is William E. Hutnik. He holds a BA in English from James Madison University and an MA in English from the College of New Jersey.
William’s professional experience is wide-ranging. He has studied and taught both in Tokuyama, Japan, and in Thorpe, England; much closer to home, he has prepared adult students pursuing their GED in Trenton. But it is his work at the Pennington School for over twenty years that has won him the respect of so many students and colleagues. His department chair, John Bouton, described him as a “most creative teacher,” a teacher known for “designing collaborative lessons that inspire students to prize authentic self-expression and close reading of literature.” A former student, one who admitted to being at first uninterested in his class, elaborated on how “he went on a mission to change that.” She praised him as a “deeply thoughtful teacher who will do anything to help his students succeed.”
William has been a member of ETS evaluating teams, promoted from Reader to Table Leader to Question Leader over a three-year tenure; in addition, he has led and participated in a large number of workshops at high school and colleges throughout the state and published in the IATE Journal. NJCTE is happy to recognize him as a model of professional excellence.
We look forward to William’s contributions to NJCTE and to his continued success in English education.
If you have a teacher whom you would like to nominate for this or another NJCTE award, please check out the criteria and nomination process on our website.
Recent Winners:
2017: Susan Chenelle, University Acad. Charter HS, Jersey City
2016: Heather D. Rocco, School District of the Chathams
2015: Stephen Chiger, North Star Academy, Newark
2014: Sarah Mulhern Gross, Technology HS, Lincroft
2013: Jennifer Ansbach, MA, Manchester Township HS
2012: Dr. Laura Nicosia, PhD, Montclair State University
2011: Dr. Liz deBeer, Point Pleasant Beach HS
2008: Dr. Patricia Schall, College of Saint Elizabeth
2007: Edie Weinthal, Pascack Valley
2006: Julie Cheville, Rutgers U
2005: Joseph Pizzo, Black River MS, Chester
Posted by Audrey Fisch, blog editor for NJCTE
New Jersey Council of Teachers of English, the New Jersey state affiliate of NCTE, the National Council of Teachers of English
New Jersey Council of Teachers of English 