Judy Alday is Montclair’s Teacher of the Year

Judy Alday, Northeast special education teacher and the Montclair Public Schools 2012 Teacher of the Year simply will not take credit for the award. She’d much rather it be considered “Teamwork” of the Year.

“I am incredibly honored and humbled,” said Alday. “Having this acknowledgement, I feel like I want to share it with everyone who has crossed my path. I’ve learned from families, students, professionals. I feel like it’s their honor too. Everyone has molded me into who I am today.”

Who Alday is, is a bubbly, dedicated and modest third-fifth grade teacher of a self-contained classroom at Northeast for the past five years.

Growing up in Hawaii, Alday wasn’t one of those students who always knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. She admits to having teachers who stand out in her mind, but none who necessarily inspired her to become one. In fact, she recalls taking an occupation interest survey in high school and says she will never forget the outcome of what her skills were most compatible with: stocking cargo.

Still, she made her way to the University of Hawaii with an open mind and considered a variety of majors ranging from science to Japanese, to speech, before deciding on and graduating with a dual certification in education. Fourteen years later, Alday is confident she found her calling.

“Maybe I never really had that ‘aha’ moment and it was more like a slow progression,” says Alday, “but I love my job and don’t see myself doing anything else.”

Or anywhere else. Alday says working at Northeast has a “family feeling. I’m grateful that everyone is so supportive. I could not be as successful without the climate here which is encouraging, inviting, and understanding.” She credits many, including her three assistants, Liz Viereck, Donna Soprano and April Johnson, along with Principal Joe Putrino, the child study team, the therapists and school nurse Barbara Good for working with her on a daily basis.

The other key partnership, she says, is with her students’ families. “Without them, I could not be as successful. Everyone is working on the same page. We all have one goal.”

That goal is not only to see her students make academic gains but to go beyond; to be independent and social and to communicate their thoughts and needs. Her impact inside and outside the classroom has been widespread according to Putrino. “I have been amazed by Ms. Alday’s constant thinking of ways to develop the life skills of her students and integrate them into least restrictive social settings. I have seen her educate the families of these children and provide training for staff. Her passion and ‘can do’ attitude has even lead to several students being brought back into the district from alternative placements,” he said. “Truly her reach goes beyond the classroom.”

Inside the classroom, Alday may have the latest technology such as SmartBoards and iPads at her fingertips to reach her students inside the classroom, but it’s her passion and compassion that makes her connect with them. “When a student walks into my classroom I see the child, not the disability,” she said. “I try to nurture yet challenge them. I work and have worked with students who have great needs academically, socially, emotionally and in communication and life skills. Sometimes a student may be mostly nonverbal, may be completely lost in his own world, and sometimes a student’s disability may be so profound that is the first thing people notice. An educator needs to find ways to make the student shine so that people see the child with dreams before obstacles.”

And when her students overcome those obstacles and realize their dreams, nothing is more rewarding to her. “My job can be challenging, but what I love most is when my students discover ‘I can do this now,’ and gain that confidence, academically and socially,” said Alday. “When my students feel themselves improving and when their families feel it too is when I know I’ve succeeded. To see a child who’s a struggling reader, give them the tools, practice with them, support them and one day it starts happening and they’re reading on their own – that’s the best feeling in the world.”

School Teachers of the Year