Tabernacle Elementary teacher wins prestigious award
Teachers play an important role during the early years of a child’s education. From learning how to write to learning shapes, the people who decide to become a teacher have a special job. Tabernacle has a teacher who has accepted this challenge and has excelled at what she does. Denise Madden, a kindergarten teacher at Tabernacle Elementary School, received the Governor’s Teacher of the Year Award. For Madden, the reason she is so successful as a teacher is not just because of her training, but the fact she cares about the children in her community.
“I think I was very surprised and I was honored to be selected,” Madden said. “I work with such dedicated, outstanding teachers. It’s just felt like such an honor that I would be chosen for it. “
Madden knew from a young age she wanted to be an educator.
”I always knew I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was a little kid,” she said. “I just love school, I love learning and I love children. It was easy for me to decide on a career. I was lucky enough to get a job right out of college.”
After Madden graduated from Elizabethtown College, she went to work at her first job in Collingswood. After teaching in Collingswood for five years, she had her first child and decided to become a stay-at-home mom. After 10 years of looking after her children, Madden returned to teaching. She and her family moved to Tabernacle, and in 1999, she began to working for Tabernacle Elementary.
“I started substituting at the Tabernacle School then eventually got a job teaching at Tabernacle Elementary. I’ve been here for quite a few years,” she said.
Her versatility in teaching has allowed her to fill different roles at the school, including being a special education teacher and a general education teacher in kindergarten. Even though Madden is teaching general education classes, she still has inclusion classes for special education.
“She is an unbelievable teacher,” Principal Jerry Paterson said. “She works very well with our students, the parents and the community. She volunteers for a lot of extra curricular activities such as Kindergarten Fun Nights. She also has helped out volunteering at Tabernacle Community Day. She is a resident of Tabernacle, so she has a vested interest in the Tabernacle community, and it really shows through. Not only in her time commitment outside of the classroom but her true genuineness toward the children, and she goes above and beyond in the classroom.”
Madden is the example of someone who loves what she does. Her passion for her job and empathy for her students were main factors in winning the award. There will always be a need for good teachers in the community. For any person that is looking to become a teacher or pursue a career in education, she has some advice.
“I chose a career that is not work. I just love being with the kids,” she said. “If you want to be a teacher, it has to be something that you love to do because it is the most rewarding profession that you will ever have.”
