Conrad Schools of Science teacher Barbara Prillaman and Brader Elementary School teacher Gretchen A. Wolfe are among finalists from each of the state’s 19 school districts for Delaware Teacher of the Year honors.
Prillaman is the teacher of the year for the Red Clay Consolidated School District. Wolfe is the teacher of the year for the Christina School District.
The 15 women and four men were chosen by their school districts from nearly 7,500 teachers statewide. The announcement of the 2009 Delaware Teacher of the Year will be made by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner Oct. 21 in a ceremony at the Dover Downs Hotel.
Passionate, dedicated, inspirational and exceptional are all words which have been used to describe Prillaman, a sixth-grade English Language Learner teacher at Conrad in Woodcrest, according to Red Clay officials. Prillaman helps her students to feel comfortable in her classroom, and instills in them the confidence to work hard to accomplish their goals and reach their potential.
Prillaman received her bachelor of arts in sociology and teacher certification in history, a master’s in education in curriculum and instruction and history and her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Delaware.
She completed the National Board Certification process and has participated in the National Councils for Social Studies and English, The International Reading Association, NEA and Delaware Geographic Alliance. She has also been an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware, a member of the school restructuring team and has worked at the Latin American Community Center to arrange family activities at school, among other things.
Prillaman began her teaching career at Alexis I. duPont Middle School.
Wolfe teaches first grade and is the team leader at Brader Elementary.
She has conducted teacher training and provided assistance in planning and implementing standards-based instruction for teachers in the Christina School District, according to district officials.
Wolfe believes “teaching is an art, an art informed by science.”
“The art of teaching is finding a way to ‘awaken the joy’ in learning for each child in my classroom and school,” she said.
Wolfe has served on many state, district and school committees, including the Delaware Student Testing Program Scores Review Committee, the Social Studies Coalition of Delaware, the Reading Council of Northern Delaware, the Diamond State Reading Association and the Delaware Writing Project.
She has been a teacher in Christina since 1995, and has previously taught at Brookside Elementary School and Smith Elementary School.
Wolfe has also served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Delaware, and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Delaware. She holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Widener University, and a master’s degree in education from the University of Delaware.
