An English as a Second Language teacher at Marie D. Durand Elementary School in Vineland was recently named as Cumberland County’s Teacher of the Year by the New Jersey Department of Education.
Karolina Mills and her 20 fellow educators were announced during a ceremony at The College of New Jersey in Ewing and are now eligible for the state level Educator of the Year award.
The Governor’s Educator of the Year Program was established to promote a positive school culture by acknowledging the commitment and dedication of outstanding teachers and educational services professionals.
“New Jersey’s public schools are considered the best in the nation because of our outstanding teachers, and this year’s 21 County Teachers of the Year exemplify that excellence,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “Exceptional educators are the key to ensuring that students across New Jersey will have a bright future.”
Mills holds a bachelor’s degree in English and education and a master’s degree in education from Palacký University in the Czech Republic. She taught English as a Foreign Language for five years in the Czech Republic and has been an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher for 18 years in the Vineland School District.
She was named a Featured Educator in 2017 by the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment Consortium and was recognized as a New Jersey Department of Education’s Exemplary Educator in 2020. She has served on New Jersey’s Bilingual-ESL Education Advisory Committee, where had the opportunity to advocate for multilingual learners across the state.
Mills has been an active member of New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages / New Jersey Bilingual Educators and has presented at their state conferences. She is a lead teacher in ESL curriculum development and an ESL coach in her district.
She serves as the Multicultural Club Advisor and Yearbook Advisor and actively volunteers in numerous school and district family events. This enables her to interact with her students and ensure that their parents are well-informed. In her classroom where the “linguistic metamorphosis” happens, many of her students have entered without knowing one word of English, having unexplainable fear in their eyes, and leave her classroom with confidence and pride rooted in their accomplishments and hard work of learning the English language.
“The dynamic educators that we recognize serve as ambassadors of the profession,” said Acting Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer. “When we highlight the great efforts from our 21 County Teachers of the Year, we shine a spotlight not only on the accomplishments of these teachers, but also on all of the schools and districts that support these remarkable educators to show why New Jersey schools lead the nation.”
The County Teachers of the Year will network with colleagues throughout the state and serve as representatives for New Jersey’s public schools during the upcoming school year.
A panel of educators will select the statewide winner from among the 21 County Teachers of the Year based on written applications, video submissions, and interviews with the top finalists. The New Jersey State Teacher of the Year will go on to represent New Jersey in competing for the title of National Teacher of the Year.
Last year’s New Jersey State Teacher of the year, Joe Nappi, went on to be one of four finalists selected in the National Teacher of the Year program run by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). Nappi is a high school history teacher in Tinton Falls who encourages a critical examination of history while emphasizing each individual’s power to impact others. He is an Alfred Lerner Fellow with the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous; a member of the Center for Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide Education and district liaison to the Diversity Council at Kean.
Last year’s national winner was an English as a Second Language teacher, Missy Testerman, who teaches at Rogersville City School in Tennessee.
CCSSO runs the National Teacher of the Year Program. Each year, states, U.S. extra-state territories, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity select outstanding educators to serve as State Teachers of the Year. From a cohort of 55 State Teachers of the Year, the National Teacher of the Year Selection Committee of CCSSO, comprising 16 individuals and education organizations, selected finalists based on written applications.
Recent previous Cumberland County Teachers of the Year include:
- 2023-24 Betsy Harrison Music Teacher Cumberland Regional High School;
- 2022-23 Jennifer Carbone Science – Grade 8 Bridgeton Public School Excel Program;
- 2021-22 Samantha Johnson Boyer Pre-Kindergarten Teacher Charles F. Seabrook School Upper Deerfield Township; and
- 2020-21 Kristina Messina Elementary Grade 5 Mount Pleasant Elementary School Millville
