JENNIFER WOLFE

Jennifer has been a teacher at Oceanside High School since 1997. She was named the NYS Teacher of the Year in 2021. Wolfe, who came to OHS in 1997, is a champion of dynamic learning for both students and teachers — with an emphasis on teachers’ professional development. She created Oceanside School District’s Tenure Attainment Plan Steps program, which launched in 2014 and is required for all new teachers in the district as part of their 20 hours of professional development.

From a young age growing up in Quaker Street, Wolfe’s parents taught her that education provides opportunity. Then, Wolfe became smitten with teaching while substituting at a middle school in Schenectady, N.Y., which served at-risk youth. “Just being with their energy, I thought to myself, ‘This is exactly where I’m supposed to be,’” she recalled.