This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
Today is National Teacher Day, and this afternoon 59 Philadelphia teachers, one from each District high school, will receive the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation’s Distinguished Teaching Award.
The honorees will join Superintendent William Hite, School Reform Commissioner Wendell Pritchett, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan, three trustees from the Lindback Foundation, and others for the celebration, which will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Prince Music Theater.
This marks the sixth annual presentation of the award. Winners were nominated by their colleagues and students and endorsed by their principals. Each honoree will be presented with a $3,500 prize.
In April, the Lindback Foundation honored seven District principals with the Lindback Distinguished Principal Award.
Here are this year’s recipients and their respective schools:
| School | Teacher |
|---|---|
| A. Philip Randolph Technical High School | James Esposito |
| Abraham Lincoln High School | Paula Miller |
| Academy at Palumbo | Christian Pedone |
| Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush | Denise Masters |
| Benjamin Franklin High School | Mike DesiDero |
| Central High School | Dan Ueda |
| Charles Carroll High School | Amy Barford |
| Communications Technology High School | Kia Hall |
| Constitution High School | Aisha Madhi |
| Edward W. Bok Technical High School | Dawn McDonald |
| Frankford High School | David Huzzard |
| Franklin Learning Center | Jessica Way |
| George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science | Lee Silverman |
| George Washington High School | Thomas Juhas |
| Germantown High School | Catherine Michini |
| Girard Academic Music Program | Kathleen Flaherty |
| High School for Creative and Performing Arts | Meenu Bhutani |
| High School of The Future | Thomas Emerson |
| Horace H. Furness High School | Doreen Coleman |
| John Bartram High School | Gillian Smith |
| Jules Mastbaum Technical High School | Drew Knasiak |
| Julia R. Masterman High School | Brent Gray |
| Kensington – Creative and Performing Arts | Joshua Kleiman |
| Kensington – Culinary Arts at the Emerald/Health | Melissa Stubblefield |
| Kensington – International Business, Finance & Entrepreneurship | Nicholas Niedosik |
| Kensington – Urban Education Academy | Mark Morales |
| Lankenau High School | Amelia Butler |
| Martin Luther King High School | Ryan Baxter |
| Motivation High School | Melika Komrokian |
| Murrell Dobbins Technical High School | Aaron Gerwer |
| Northeast High School | Timothy Snyder |
| Overbrook High School | Alva Edwards |
| Parkway Center City High School | Maureen Boland |
| Parkway Northwest High School | Andrea Siegel |
| Parkway West High School | Richard Lee Daniels |
| Paul Robeson High School | Cordelia Luke |
| Pennypack House School | Steven DiGiovanni |
| Philadelphia High School For Girls | Joseph Marchetti |
| Philadelphia Learning Academy North | Addie Mair |
| Philadelphia Learning Academy South | Theresa Higgins |
| Philadelphia Military Academy at Elverson | Deborah Matthews |
| Philadelphia Military Academy at Leeds | Joshua Levenson |
| Robert E. Lamberton High School | Sharon Jackson |
| Roberts Vaux High School | Donna Widmann |
| Roxborough High School | Erika McFadden |
| Samuel S. Fels High School | John Zak |
| Science Leadership Academy | Tim Best |
| South Philadelphia High School | Roberta Emmanuel |
| Stephen A. Douglas High School | Kathleen Radebaugh |
| Strawberry Mansion High School | Angela Garabedian |
| Swenson Arts and Technology High School | Wanda Miller |
| Thomas Alva Edison High School | Maria Neilio |
| University City High School | Andrew Schiera |
| Walter Biddle Saul High School of Agricultural Science | Julie Steiner |
| West Philadelphia High School | Carolyn Conlon |
| Widener Memorial School | Kathy Leonard |
| William L. Sayre High School | Elizabeth Curry |
| William W. Bodine High School for International Affairs | Maeve O’Hara |
| Youth Study Center School | Carol Heinsdorf |