ERVING — Stephanie Barry, a second-grade teacher at Erving Elementary School, was celebrated during a School Committee meeting last week for her receipt of a 2022 Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award.
With Barry in attendance at the Erving Senior & Community Center, the audience and committee members alike broke into applause as Principal Lisa Candito addressed the meeting remotely. Candito referred to Barry as “one of the amazing educators at Erving Elementary School” who is continuously “showcasing the great human being, colleague and teacher she is.”
The Excellence in Teaching Awards program is made possible by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation in partnership with the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation. As such, the award is often referred to as the Grinspoon Award.
More than 100 educators in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties receive the award each year, according to the program’s website. Since its inception, 2,000 educators have been recognized, with 103 teachers from 32 districts having been awarded this year, according to Program Director Uli Nagel.
“I think it’s special because teachers are these unsung heroes. They’re often taken for granted,” Nagel said. “Especially in the COVID years, it’s been quite a challenging job to have.”
Barry fondly recounted how earlier in the month, students from her classroom helped surprise her with the award during an informal — yet touching — in-school celebration. Even a teacher from the school who is currently living in Thailand joined the party via video conference.
“It was so fun announcing this surprise to her,” Candito said. “She had no idea.”
“When you see those (types of surprises), it’s so heartwarming because the teachers are so grateful,” Nagel commented.
In terms of receiving the award, Barry said it was “incredibly special” to be thought of so highly by those she mutually respects.
“It feels pretty amazing to be recognized in such a way, embedded in such a trying couple of years of teaching young children,” she said.
Barry and all other 2022 winners will be honored during a banquet at the Log Cabin in Holyoke on May 11. Each recipient will get an engraved plaque and a check for $250, along with tuition incentives and scholarships offered by seven local colleges and universities — Elms College, Bay Path University, Mount Holyoke College, Springfield College, Western New England University, Westfield State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Winners also receive a WGBY membership and access to thousands of digital education resources, in addition to three-month memberships at the Springfield Jewish Community Center and one of the six regional YMCAs.
Barry is also invited to apply for the $250 Classroom Innovator Prize, for which teachers can submit a project-based learning idea. Up to 30 prizes will be awarded.
Reach Julian Mendoza
at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.