This is the latest in our “Weston Wednesday” series, spotlighting the winners of the 2024 Judy Weston Awards for Inspired Teaching. Follow along each week to learn more about the impact these educators are making in the Montclair Public Schools.
A year with Dr. Ellen Cahill is “a marvelous journey,” one parent wrote in their Weston Award nomination letter. More than one parent called their student’s experience in Dr. Cahill’s classroom “magical.” And everyone who nominated her mentioned her wild menagerie of 70-plus animals.
Dr. Cahill provides students unique experiences like making sushi, harvesting vegetables or celebrating a wide array of cultural traditions. She infuses lessons with joy and wonder, and has a lasting impact on students. One parent told us that their child even asked to go to school on the weekends!
Another parent wrote: “Doc has instilled a love of learning in [my son], and he's had countless educational trips and modules – from visiting the Transit Museum and seeing the Statue of Liberty to holding a hedgehog and stargazing at [Montclair State University]. Every day he comes home bursting with things to tell us, and he has learned so much about the widest range of topics. We feel so grateful that he is in an unbelievably nurturing and wonderful environment during this critical year. I've never encountered a teacher as magical as Doc Cahill.”
For making her students feel valued and seen, for exposing them to people, places and ideas beyond her classroom walls, and for igniting their imaginations and sense of awe for the world, Dr. Cahill is an inspired teacher.
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