The Manville School District announced on December 8, 2023, that Ms. Rachel Gottfried had received the Governor’s Educator of the Year Award.
Ms. Gottfried was extremely confused when she noticed a camera crew following Mr. Wright and Mr. Venuto as they made their way through the media center into her period four AP Psychology class with flowers and balloons.
Before being hired as a Library Media Specialist in 2014 for the high school, Ms.Gottfried worked as a librarian at the East Brunswick Public Library and later for a BioTechnology Company. Ms. Gottfried attended Stern College and Rutgers University, where she majored in Psychology due to her interest to better understand people, and she eventually went back to school for a Masters in Library and Communication Science, as she states, “I realized my love for connecting people with information that can be challenging to find.”
During her ten years at the high school, Gottfried has been a Library Media Specialist, where she would teach freshman seminar classes, and advisor of the Class of 2021, to now being the National Honor Society Advisor, Media Specialist, and teacher for AP Seminar, AP Research, and AP Psychology.
Outside of school hours, Ms. Gottfried can usually be found at home with her husband, two kids, and three cats. Besides following her passion of doing cat rescues, Gottfried also enjoys reading and taking long walks. With the fast pace of the school year, Ms.Gottfried uses the summer as a way to connect with family and friends, as well as being able to do family trips and being in nature as much as possible.
With her experience, leadership skills, and now her recognition, we asked her what’s one piece of advice she would give to a novice teacher; Ms. Gottfried stated, “I would advise new teachers that you have to really love what you do in any job, and all the more so when it comes to being a classroom teacher. Every student has a unique story and comes with their own history. It’s not our job to know each story, but it is our job to know each student and show them the same empathy that we would want. That and don’t take too much work home with you.”
Once again, congratulations to Ms. Rachel Gottfried on being awarded the Governor’s Educator of the Year award.
