Princeton honors exceptional secondary school teachers

Princeton University will honor four outstanding New Jersey secondary school teachers at its 2009 Commencement on Tuesday, June 2. This year's honorees are James Danch, Colonia High School, Colonia; Katherine O'Neil, East Brook Middle School, Paramus; Martin Shields, Pascack Hills High School, Montvale; and Rebecca Strum, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack. The teachers were selected for the award from 81 nominations from public and private schools around the state. Each teacher will receive $5,000 as well as $3,000 for his or her school library. "This year's awardees offer us a splendid portrait of excellence in teaching. The most important ingredient for student success is a good teacher, and these four teachers epitomize the very best of the profession," said John Webb, director of Princeton's Program in Teacher Preparation , which administers the awards. "They are deeply passionate about what they do each day, in some cases even after decades in the classroom.