INFORMATION ABOUT AWARD WINNERS: 

Matthew Barbaro                                                                                        
Horizons-on-the-Hudson Magnet School
Newburgh Enlarged City School District

For the past 13 years, Matthew Barbaro has been teaching elementary grades at Horizons-on-the-Hudson.  Matt is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz who earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology and an MST in Elementary Education from us.  His classroom is high-energy, productive, active, hands-on, experiential, challenging.  He arrives at school early to work with students and stays late to run clubs in soccer, lacrosse and basketball.  A parent says of him:  “Mr. Barbero has the wonderful ability to create a learning environment that is not only safe and inviting, but one that creates a desire to learn within his students.”  His dedication and love of teaching and creating exciting learning environments for all of his students is mentioned by all who describe him.  Whether teaching science from his mobile science cart, including parents on a hiking trip or developing the school store, he engages everyone in the learning process.   He is a great colleague who has earned the respect of his peers through leading by example.

Linda Kirkpatrick
Walden Elementary School
Valley Central School District

For over 20 years Linda Kirkpatrick has been a valued member of Walden Elementary School.  Her MSEd is from SUNY New Paltz.  Reading is her specialty, and her love of reading and language arts are reflected in the outstanding quality of the program of reading instruction she has maintained throughout her years of teaching.  Her colleagues view her as a Master Teacher and say that she puts her heart into every aspect of her teaching.  She brings parents and children together, provides tools for the success of each of her students and encourages a love of literature and reading in everyone she meets.  She consistently raises students from where they are to new levels of success, and never gives up on any child.  To her colleagues she is a role model.  One recommender says “she is diligent, caring, respectful, and she passionately imparts her love of reading to her students.  Her personality, work ethic, professionalism and leadership qualities afford her much deserved respect.  Her enthusiasm, her innovativeness and her genuine concern for creating a love of learning are exemplary.”   

Jeanann Klopchin
Harriman Learning Center and Emanuel Axelrod Education Center
Orange-Ulster BOCES

Jeanann Klopchin is currently a Science Education Development Specialist working for the Orange-Ulster BOCES Division of Professional Development.  She holds a BS and MS from SUNY Geneseo.  For most of her career, she has worked with elementary- and middle-school-aged children with emotional disabilities.  As well, she is well-known throughout Orange County and New York State for her work with educational technology and science and has been recognized as the ‘science teacher extraordinaire’ by the NY State Science Teachers Association.  She has a passion for teaching, and her patience and belief that all children can learn if given the proper learning environment have resulted in countless of her students achieving levels of success that few dreamed possible.  In her present role as Staff Development Specialist she shares her wealth of knowledge with teachers in districts throughout Orange County.  One recommender says: “Her desire to learn and grow professionally not only serves as a model for all educators, but has also earned her the highest level of respect by all who have been fortunate enough to work with and/or learn from her. "

Judith Hassler Moran
Goshen High School
Goshen Central School District

Judith Moran teaches Advanced Placement Biology to 11^th and 12^th graders at Goshen High School, where she has taught for 23 years.  She earned her BA in Biology and MA in Biology/Secondary Education from SUNY New Paltz.  Her superintendent says of her that “for 23 years, Judy has set the standard for the study of Biology in our high school.”  Also the National Honor Society advisor, she has engaged her students in thousands of community service hours and has organized and traveled with those students on a range of educational trips abroad. A student says of her “Mrs. Moran is, without doubt, the hardest working teacher at Goshen High School.  It is apparent that she is not only dedicated to Biology but to her students as well.”   Judy is an outstanding teacher who truly cares about her students, her school and the Goshen Community.

Camille Moriello
Vails Gate High Tech Magnet School
Newburgh Enlarged City School District

Camille Moriello has been teaching for almost 40 years, 29 of which she has spent teaching reading.  She earned her B.S. in Special Education and English from Mt. St. Mary College and her MS.Ed. in Reading from SUNY New Paltz and will be retiring at the end of this year to continue her lifelong love of learning in different ways.  Her teaching career has always been “children first.”  Her passion for teaching and learning is contagious, and she has dedicated herself to helping her students and her colleagues excel.   “Simply stated,” as one of her recommenders puts it “Camille Moriello has taught hundreds of children to read.  For them she has taken a confusing incomprehensible mess of letters on a page and transformed it into knowledge, thought and wonder.  And that’s not all.  In so doing, Camille has given her students the immeasurable gift of believing that they can achieve what they set out to do.”

Marie Murphy
New Windsor School
Newburgh Enlarged City School District

Marie Murphy is currently a Resource Teacher in New Windsor School and has nearly 30 years' teaching experience.  She holds a BA and MA from Mt. St. Mary College.  Mrs. Murphy plays a vital role in the lives of numerous students and parents in New Windsor School; the entire school community depends on her.  As a senior teacher, she works tirelessly to improve the working environment of her colleagues, always making herself available to help others.  With her deep understanding of Special Education issues and how they impact our teachers and students, she leads in a range of roles relating to the instruction of students with special needs.  She has vastly improved services to students and has emerged as a wonderful resource for faculty.   One of her students describes her experience being rescued by Mrs. Murphy after falling behind and not knowing what to do.  “A year later, I am doing better in school.  Mrs. Murphy is the kind of teacher all kids should have.  Mrs. Murphy came through for me and my family.  She is my hero.”

Elizabeth Zingaro
Technology Integration
Wappingers Central School District

Betsy Zingaro has been teaching for 24 years.  She has her BS from Marist College in Psychology and Special Ed. and MA from Mt. St. Mary College in Special Ed.  Her Deputy Superintendent says of her “I have had the absolute pleasure of working with Betsy for nearly a decade and the wonderful fortune of convincing her, 8 years ago, to work for me.  During those 8 years, she has moved from being one of the best teachers in her school to being one of the best. Period.”  Through her understanding of technology and its possibilities and her ability to make people comfortable with integrating it into their classrooms, she has enriched the educational experience for students, parents, teachers and administrators.  Students now make I Movies, tour art museums around the world   and visit the National Archives without leaving their school.  A colleague says of her “It is without doubt that Mrs. Zingaro is a Master Teacher and enriches the lives of all she interacts with.”