Western Wayne recently honored two outstanding teachers by presenting them with the PASR award at their annual Middle School Moving-Up Ceremony held on Thursday, June 21 in the Middle School gym.

The PASR award is presented on a rotating basis to two teachers within the school districts of Western Wayne, Wallenpaupack, and Wayne Highlands.  This year the award was presented to two teachers within the Western Wayne School District.  The recipients of the 2018 PASR award for Western Wayne were Mrs. Carrie Wittenbrader and Mr. Michael Bershefsky.

PASR is an association comprised of members who are all retired employees of the public schools of Pennsylvania. PASR’s mission is “to serve others in need and help one another enjoy retirement.”

PASR was established in 1937 and is a pioneer of nonprofit voluntary membership organizations nationally—having helped establish both the National Retired Teachers’ Association in 1947 and the nation’s largest senior organization, AARP, in 1958. Currently, there are approximately 70 local PASR chapters. Most are found throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; however, chapters are located throughout the country.

Western Wayne is extremely proud of their teachers for receiving this honor.

Michael Bershefsky has been a faithful employee of the Western Wayne School District since August of 2002.  Mr. B., as he is known by his students, works tirelessly as a Para-Professional with students who have intense emotional, behavioral, and academic needs.  Mr. B. is an incredibly caring and kind-hearted individual who unconditionally supports his students.  Mr. B. also supports the school and community through countless hours of volunteer work and activities.

Carrie Wittenbrader started her Wildcat teaching career in 2006.  Mrs. Wittenbrader is known as a dedicated teacher who is always creating engaging lessons for her students.  Mrs. Wittenbrader will stop at nothing to see her students succeed.  Aside from her teaching duties, she has served as coach, advisor, mentor, and volunteer.

In recognition to Wildcat dedication and excellence, the Western Wayne School District is proud to recognize the work and accomplishments of both Michael Bershefsky and Carrie Wittenbrader.

   If you have not already, please view the report GRADING OUR SCHOOLS from the Scranton Times.   We are Western Wayne Proud of the district’s performance.  In the High and Low section our Third Grade were recognized on the PSSA test  in both ELA and Math as second in the region for performance, and WW High School was one of 13 districts meeting SAT performance. Our Middle School met or exceeded the State Average in ELA and Science, as did the Elementary in Grades 4 and 5. The High School met or exceeded all areas of performance in Algebra, Biology and Literature on the Keystone Exam. If you are interested in the complete report, see the Scranton Times.

   Dr. Barrett and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Board of Education, our administration, teachers, staff, students and parents for the continued hard work, tough decisions, and support to ensure Western Wayne is successful, not only academically, but in preparing students to meet the challenges of a global society.