LINCOLN TEACHER RECEIVES STATE-WIDE RECOGNITION
A
braham Lincoln Elementary
School Instructional Support
Teacher Rose DeGregorio
was presented with the 2019
Hilda M. Sundermann Award from
the Pennsylvania Chapter of the
Pennsylvania State Teachers of
the Year.
Mrs. DeGregorio is the fourth
Pennsylvania Teacher to receive this
award and the first Instructional Support
Teacher to be recognized in this manner.
The award commemorates Hilda
M. Sundermann, a retired City of
Pittsburgh Teacher who passed away
in 2015, and is given to an elementary
teacher in the state who exemplifies
a positive and nurturing spirit and a
love of teaching elementary students.
Elementary Teachers who received
Apple Awards from PA-NSTOY in 2019
were eligible to receive the award. Apple
Awards are given to those teachers
who make a positive difference in the
lives of students, school districts and
communities.
Mrs. DeGregorio received the award
and $500 to be used in her classroom at
a surprise assembly held in her honor in
late September. Presenting the award
were Franklin Fourth Grade Teacher
and 2017 PA Teacher of the Year Finalist
Katherine Meucci, who nominated
Mrs. DeGregorio for the Apple Award,
as well as Cindy Ollendyke, Immediate
Past President of the PA Chapter of the
National State Teachers of the Year, and
James Nagorski, PA-NSTOY Treasurer.
Mrs. DeGregorio has been teaching
for 22 years, the last 13 in Bethel Park.
She began her career in Bethel Park
as a Fourth Grade Teacher at Franklin
On hand to congratulate Mrs. DeGregorio (front, center) were (front row, left to right): Lincoln Principal
Jay Johnson, Franklin Fourth Grade Teacher Katherine Meucci, Assistant Director of Special Education
Dr. Sarah Shue and Assistant to the Superintendent Dr. Janet O’Rourke; (back row, left to right): Mrs.
DeGregorio’s husband, Kyle, and son, Paul; PA-NSTOY Immediate Past President Cindy Ollendyke, PA-
NSTOY Treasurer James Nagorski, Bethel Park Superintendent Dr. Joseph Pasquerilla and Curriculum
Coordinator Elizabeth Wells.
Elementary School, before moving to
Lincoln 10 years ago as its Instructional
Support Teacher. As Lincoln’s IST, she
works with numerous students, helping
them to improve their English/language
arts and math skills.
As part of her classroom, she
established a Writing and Publishing
Center, where students can come during
their lunch periods to improve their
writing skills. Students are able to write
a story, print it out and Mrs. DeGregorio
binds the stories into books, complete
with a hard cover made from cereal boxes
and covered with wallpaper samples.
The students’ writings are submitted
each year to the WQED Writer’s Contest,
with several Lincoln students being
recognized for their original writing over
the years.
Mrs. DeGregorio decided to use her
$500 prize money to create a Sensory
Room at Lincoln, providing a safe and
calming space for students to manage
anxiety, and seek or reduce sensory
integration. The Sensory Room will serve
as a learning and working environment,
prioritizing therapeutic wellness for all
Lincoln students.
“I am happy to say that I come to
work every day to do a job I love,” she
explained. “The great thing about my job
is that I get to see so many students and
am able to dip my fingers in all areas of
the curriculum. It is a great joy to be with
all of these students.”
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