Every year, teachers and educational professionals from each Freehold Regional High School District school are selected to be honored in the Monmouth County Governor's Educator of the Year Program. We are recognizing each of the 2022-2023 recipients in a Staff Spotlight series. This week, we are highlighting Lindsey Petschenik, an English teacher at Howell High School.
Ms. Petschenik is an alumnus of the Freehold Regional High School District (Marlboro High School) and graduated from Rider University. She also received a Masters in Educational Leadership from Montclair State University. This is her 13th year teaching English at Howell High School. In addition to her work in the classroom, Ms. Petschenik has been the dance team coach for 11 years and was a class advisor for eight years. She has also served on the PLC team and the SCIP for the past two years. Outside school, Ms. Petschenik is a dance teacher at Dance Attitudes of Marlboro.
When her name was revealed as Howell's Teacher of the Year, Ms. Petschenik said she was in shock and felt truly honored to be this year's recipient.
When asked what she loves best about teaching, Ms. Petschenik said it's the students.
"It's amazing to watch my students grow from year to year. I have the unique opportunity to teach some students for a consecutive amount of years, and to see them mature in so many different ways is absolutely awesome. In the same breath, I think that might be my greatest accomplishment, making connections with my students. There is no greater feeling than when a student comes back to visit. It's truly the greatest compliment one can receive," she described.
Ms. Petschenik would impart the wisdom bestowed upon her during her first year of teaching to new teachers.
"Take a breath and remember that it will all get done. Finding the time and balance between all the different parts of our job can be extremely stressful, so it's important to keep this advice in mind because in all truth, it does all get done, even when it seems like it might not!" she advised.
