Three Allegheny County teachers named Pennsylvania Teacher of Year finalists

Three Allegheny County teachers are among a dozen finalists for the 2017 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year award.

The local nominees are Patricia Cekella, a Pine-Richland Middle School teacher, and two Bethel Park teachers — Katherine Meucci, a fourth grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School, and Emily Smoller, a marketing teacher at the district's high school.

The winner will be announced in December.

Meucci and Smoller join six other Bethel Park teachers who have been recognized by the program, three semifinalists and three finalists, since 2008.

Cekella said she has been “both honored and humbled by the experience,”

“It has allowed me to take time and reflect on all the positive things that Pine-Richland has to offer its students and teachers,” she said. “The collaborative atmosphere supports a creative and caring approach to learning.”

Cekella has been teaching in Pine-Richland for almost 12 years. She teaches geometry and algebra fundamentals.

This year, Cekella initiated a Boys with GOALS group to help a small group of eighth-grade boys who were in need of a positive, male role model to encourage and promote GOALS, which stands for Good choices, Outstanding effort, Achieve consistent work habits, positive attitude towards Learning, and Surrounded by good role models.

A speaker is invited to visit and talk to the boys once a month during a lunch period about characteristics of a good student/citizen and steps needed for success.

“I live by the motto “Do Your Best,” and try to create a classroom that brings out the best in every student,” Cekella said.

She has encouraged students to excel at math and helped her students earn the Gold Level Status in Mathcounts in 2012.

The program honors schools that have a percentage of students scoring 80 percent or higher in a math challenge.

Cekellas was named a state semifinalist for 2012, 2013, and 2015.

In December, teachers will participate in a ceremony to be hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, when the 2017 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year will be announced.

Cekella graduated from Grove City College in 1990 with a bachelor of arts in mathematics and secondary education.

She was a Scholars in Education Award Recipient. Previously, she taught at Seneca Valley High School for six years.

Staff report