Collaborative Partnerships for the Tourette Syndrome Community
SOMERVILLE, N.J. – The NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) is proud to announce that nominations for the 10th annual NJCTS Educator of the Year Award are being accepted now through May 1.
Since 2004, this award has been handed out to educators in New Jersey who have made a significant difference in the life of a child with Tourette Syndrome – an inherited, misunderstood, misdiagnosed neurological disorder that is characterized by sounds and movements know as tics, and affects 1 in 100 children.
“I feel as a mom of three young children, and one of them having Tourette Syndrome, that showing our gratitude was one of the best things we have ever done,” said Melissa Miskell, who nominated Anita Riccardelli for an Educator of the Year Award in 2012 on behalf of her daughter, Erin. “Teachers like Mrs. Riccardelli must be rewarded for outstanding teaching. She not only is a teacher, she is now someone we call ‘friend.’ ”
Teachers, guidance counselors, principals or other education professionals in New Jersey public or private schools are eligible to receive an NJCTS Educator of the Year Award, which in 2013 was split between three Garden State educators – South Plainfield Middle School Principal Kevin Hajduk, Elizabeth Viola of The Parsons School and Loren MacTaggart of Summit High School.
“As the NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is with great pride that we continue the tradition of recognizing the New Jersey educators who best serve students affected by Tourette,” NJCTS Executive Director Faith W. Rice said. “Over the past decade, NJCTS has educated more than 60,000 teachers with strategies and techniques for dealing with TS, and each year our families show their gratitude by recognizing the best of the best.”
To honor an educator in your child’s school, please fill out the nomination form today. For more information about the NJCTS Educator of the Year Program, please visit www.njcts.org.
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NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders, Inc. Collaborative partnerships for the TS community.