Ms. Waber Represents Masterman at PA Teacher of the Year

Masterman’s Ms. Waber was recently nominated PA Teacher of the Year.  Ms. Waber remembers the moment she found out: it was right after she saw the play Fat Ham at the Wilma Theatre with a former Masterman teacher. After the play, they went to dinner and her phone lit up on the table saying that she was nominated for PA Teacher of the Year. She was surprised and touched that a former Masterman student Shana Cohen-Mungan (class of 2020) and their family nominated her for such a thoughtful honor. Ms. Waber taught Shana in 10th and 12th grade for English and Drama. Shana was an avid participant in the Masterman acting club that Ms. Waber used to run and was a member of the inaugural Ethics Bowl team. Ms. Waber noted, “I love Shana and the entire Cohen-Mungan family and will be forever grateful that they opened up this door for me.” 

The process to make it to the final stage was long and rigorous. First, the award committee reviewed Ms. Waber’s resume, professional memberships, and other awards and honors as well as her contributions to communities across the Philadelphia School District over the years. They looked at many letters of recommendation as well as multiple essays that she has written about teaching. Once she made it through that round, she was then tasked with a 30 minute interview with a member of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Her videotaped interview was judged by the Department of Education and National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) members and she made it to the next round. She was then tasked with creating multiple videos. For example, one video was of a full class lesson, submitted with a lesson plan, and another video discussion of the lesson. Other video submission tasks included talking about Masterman and the School District of Philadelphia as well as a five-minute speech on the future of education. “It was a lot of work, but ultimately I found it rewarding to look back on my career,” she reflected. “I found out that I was a finalist last April. I was 1 of 12 finalists out of about 660 nominations across the state.” The Masterman community is very proud of Ms.Waber and her perseverance through this process! 

attention she was receiving. However, once she got over the initial surprise, she“was so moved by the words of students and friends.” Ms. Waber would like to thank Ms. Taylor, Masterman Admin, The Kits (Masterman’s senior band), and the students who planned the assembly and spoke.