x
Breaking News
More () »

Tamaqua Educator Up For Teacher of the Year

TAMAQUA — A teacher in Schuylkill County is in the running for best educator in the state and just a few weeks ago, we featured her school lesson on Newsw...

TAMAQUA -- A teacher in Schuylkill County is in the running for best educator in the state and just a few weeks ago, we featured her school lesson on Newswatch 16.

Jolene Barron, a third grade teacher at Tamaqua Elementary could be the top teacher in Pennsylvania.

"I received an email in October and I actually thought it was a hoax. I didn't believe it at first!" Barron said.

Mrs. Barron was nominated by parents of her students from last year. Now, she's a finalist for the 2016 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, along with 11 other educators from around the state.

Her third grade students in Schuylkill County say that's no surprise.

"She is very good at teaching and letting us learn what we didn't know before," said third-grader Emily Lang.

"Mrs. Barron's the best teacher in the world!" added third-grader Adam Kostecky.

Students tell Newswatch 16 their favorite project this year was the postcard project. Not only did they get postcards from all 50 states, they got 1,400 from all over the world.

"I've had a lot of people talk to me and say that's why you're one of these nominees because of the things you do, but I'm just doing my job and I love doing it."

If Barron is named the top teacher in the state, she would be the first from Schuylkill County to get the award.

For now, she's just proud of the fact that her idea -- the postcard project, which started as a social studies lesson and ended with postcards from all over, really took off.

"I think it's really neat because it shows that the community is excited about things in education and they want to be involved in education," she added.

Mrs. Barron will find out in December if she wins the award. If she does, she'll be entered into the competition for the top teacher in the nation.

Before You Leave, Check This Out