Darrin Wolsko – WHRHS Educator of the Year
Submitted by Denis Kelly
Science Teacher Darrin Wolsko has been selected as Educator of the Year for the 2020-2021 School Year at Watchung Hills Regional High School (WHRHS).
“Mr. Wolsko has been teaching at WHRHS for 17 years and has made an indelible mark on student learning both in and out of the classroom,” said WHRHS Principal William Librera.
“As a 9th-grade biology teacher, he has assisted students in their transition from middle school to high school with an empathic attitude,” Librera said. “Mr. Wolsko takes pride in his every interaction with our 9th graders: he not only facilitates their understanding of biology, but he also eases them into a high school environment. For some of our students this support is invaluable because it can be daunting to move from a middle school of less than 300 to a high school of 2,000 students.”
WHRHS Director of Science Michael D’Alessio characterized Wolsko as the consummate team player.
“Mr. Wolsko works with other members of the science department to prepare resources that challenge all students he teaches,” he said. “He is known to his peers for modeling inquiry-based instruction. Other departments even hear students speak highly of him, and when he was presented with the Educator of the Year Award, multiple teachers beyond his department commented on how surprised they were that he hadn’t won previously.”
Beyond the teaching staff, security, assistants and administrators rejoiced for him and agreed it was an overdue and well-deserved honor, he added.
“In addition to mentoring freshmen expertly, he also teaches Human Biology,” D’Alessio said. “Mr. Wolsko helps students understand how the systems of the body and their interlaced mechanisms work. His goal is not to make them physiologists, but rather he is committed to preparing students for life. Mr. Wolsko uses the curriculum as a metaphor to help students practice independent and evidenced-based thinking when encountering difficult material not only in preparation for college but beyond.”
D’Alessio continued, “Students who have graduated and who have taken Mr. Wolsko’s human biology class often return to WHRHS extolling the deep learning they experienced in his classroom. Every break, it seems students cannot wait to visit and to thank him. His memory is exemplary; not only do students remember him, he frequently demonstrates his social and emotional IQ when he asks returning students about how their sibling is doing or whether they are still political science majors, philosophy or business majors; he also often gets their graduation year correct even if it’s been 10 years.”
Principal Librera concludes, saying, “Mr. Wolsko has it all: classroom prowess, personal commitment, and collegial relationships that he nurtures year after year. It is with great pride that we honor him as the WHRHS Educator of the Year.”
Wolsko said he grew up in Hopatcong in Sussex County, and graduated from Hopatcong High School in 1992.
He said he wanted to make sure he acknowledged the person who inspired him to become a teacher.
“I would like to give props to Mr. Robert Schray, who was my German teacher, and bowling coach, throughout my high school career,” he said. “He is the number one reason that I am a teacher today, and I dedicate my career to him.”
Wolsko went to Montclair State University for his bachelor’s of science degree in Biology and teacher’s certification in Biological Sciences, as well as for his master’s degree of science in Biology. He also has a supervisor’s certification.
He began his career as an 8th grade teacher of life sciences at Mount Olive Middle School in 1997, and left there to come to WHRHS in January of 2004.
“While I taught middle school, I was also an adjunct professor of biology at Montclair for a few years before my first son was born. So, I am here 17 years at Watchung on January 4,” he said.
It was at Mount Olive Middle School 21 years ago that he was awarded Teacher of the Year there, he said.
Wolsko lives in Clinton with his wife, Aimee, who has been the Youth Services Librarian at Hunterdon County Library for 24 years. “We just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on December 3,” he said. Also in the household are his father, Vince, a retired therapist, their children, James, 17, a senior at North Hunterdon High School, who plans on attending at the University of Northwestern Ohio, Lima, Ohio, to be an auto mechanic, and Henry, 8, a second grader at Clinton Public School.
“Hobbies? I am passionate about cooking for my family and friends, reading nerdy sci-fi books, collecting cookbooks/researching recipes, as well as camping and being outdoors,” he said.
