Willowglen Academy Educator Named 'Teacher of the Month'

The following was submitted by Centenary College. 

Bonnie Sue Bastin, a Centenary College graduate student from Newton, has been named “Teacher of the Month” by Think Teachers Magazine. Bastin will be highlighted in the May issue, which will be available on April 26.

Think Teachers is a monthly publication dedicated to teachers, administrators and other educators in the state of New Jersey.  Every month one New Jersey teacher is featured as “Teacher of the Month.” Mitchell Krugel, Editor and Publisher of Think Teachers, felt that Bastin’s nomination stood out because of her “innovation, passion for her work and success” and cited that the type of work that she is doing with her students is “rare.”

She was nominated by Dr. Linda Schwartz Green, Professor of Education at Centenary College. 

“What makes Bonnie Sue stand out is her professionalism, patience, and her heart. She believes that every student has the right to a quality education,” Green said. “She works hard to help every student become successful because she knows that is what they deserve.”

Bastin, who is graduating with an M.A. in Special Education next month, is in her sixth year teaching at Willowglen Academy in Sparta.  She has an undergraduate degree in Social Work from Grove City College and decided to come back to College to become certified in teaching after a stint as a substitute teacher. 

“My position as a Life Skills Teacher at Willowglen is a great fit for me because I can take all of the resources that I have with my social work background and bring it into the classroom,” says Bastin, who works with students with multiple disabilities.

Some of her work includes focusing on the discovery of each student’s passion.  Her innovative methods include the use of reading therapy dogs, which provides students the reinforcement to bolster their reading skills. She also created a school gardening program and has studied how programs such as these engage students and how they have impacted their concentration levels, behaviors and social interactions.  She also established Classroom Critters and brings small animals into the classroom, such as guinea pigs and ducks, so the students can learn about each species.

Since teaching is not just a job, it is a passion for Bastin, she aspires to add teaching a course or two at the college level to her workload after she graduates, as she wants to instill the importance of experiential learning to future teachers.