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Photo courtesy of Ella Berman (11-2)
In early December, Ms. Taylor was recognized as a finalist at the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year celebration. The program honors excellence in teaching and pays tribute to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the education of students in Pennsylvania. The selection process is rigorous and the finalists must meet certain criteria, including playing an active role in the school and community and incorporating effective and innovative instructional strategies into the classroom.
Ms. Taylor first learned about the Teacher of the Year program when she received an email — that she initially assumed was spam — last year. However, after taking a closer look, she realized that she had been nominated for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year by Kera McCarthy, a former Masterman student who graduated in 2022. McCarthy had had Ms. Taylor for 9th grade World History and again in senior year for Civics. “My mother is a teacher, and she was nominated for Pennsylvania Teacher of The Year last year, too,” explains McCarthy. “When she was, she recommended that I nominate someone. Ms. Taylor stood out to me as someone whose hard work I thought should be recognized, so I nominated her.”
After completing the application, including essays and letters of recommendation, Ms. Taylor found out last February that she was selected as semifinalist. Next, Ms. Taylor went through a round of interviews, and in May she heard that she, along with twelve other teachers, advanced to become a finalist. All of the finalists were invited to Hershey in December, where the Teacher of the Year Award would be announced.
In December, Ms. Taylor and Dr. Payne traveled to Hershey. Students delivered speeches about each of the twelve finalists, so McCarthy also came to Hershey to speak about Ms. Taylor. In her speech, she conveyed her appreciation for Ms. Taylor and all of the teachers who help shape students' lives. “Teachers are humans, but they achieve superhuman things, and that’s become so normal to us as students that we don’t think to say it, so when I got the chance, I did,” says McCarthy.
In reflecting on the event, Ms. Taylor noted how nice it was to attend an event that was so supportive of teachers, especially since teachers are often subject to frequent criticism: “It was really different to go to an event where for a weekend what people talked about was what teachers are doing right in their classroom. Everyone gets into teaching because they want to help students, and they want to do their best. I don’t think generally teachers hear a lot of affirmation, so it was nice to hear that affirmation from the…leaders of the Pennsylvania Department of Education and other administrators at this conference.”
Ms. Taylor started teaching in California at John F. Kennedy High School, and once she moved to Philadelphia, she worked at Roberto Clemente Middle School. Fifteen years ago, she joined Masterman’s faculty and has been here since. “History is really amazing, and teaching is actually really fun, and students in some way always want to do their best,” says Ms. Taylor.
When asked about teaching specifically at Masterman, Ms. Taylor explained, “There’s a definite benefit to teaching a student body who has really high reading levels, because you guys can analyze pretty much any source out there, without reading comprehension being too much of an issue.” At Masterman, Ms. Taylor teaches 10th grade African American History, Civics, and runs National History Day.
“I wish…that the joy I felt that weekend about being celebrated was a more common occurrence for all teachers who really put their heart into the job every day and don’t expect any sort of recognition, but they deserve recognition,” says Ms. Taylor, “We should really celebrate all the teachers at Masterman, in the School District of Philadelphia, and in all of Pennsylvania, who really try their best to help students on a daily basis.”
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