UPDATED: Middletown HS’s Cory Hafer Named DE 2024 Teacher of the Year Wednesday Night
UPDATED – 10/18/23 – Appoquinimink School District engineering and science teacher, Cory Hafer of Middletown High School was named Delaware’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. All 20 district and charter teachers of the year were celebrated Wednesday night in Dover. Hafer plans to use his position to advocate for the importance of building student connections. He is Delaware’s candidate in the National Teacher of the Year Program.
Additional information from the DE Dept of Education:
By action of the General Assembly, he will receive a $5,000 grant to use for the educational benefit of her students, as well as two personal grants totaling an additional $5,000. The remaining 19 school district/charter honorees each will receive a personal grant of $2,000. All 20 teachers also received gifts from Advantech Incorporated and their district superintendents or the Delaware Charter Network.
Hafer also received gifts from the Office of U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, the Delaware School Boards Association, Delaware State Education Association and Delaware State Teachers of the Year Association; State of Delaware Teacher of the Year commemorative plates from the Division of Motor Vehicles; a full doctorate program from University of Delaware and Wilmington University; and a 10-karat gold ring from Jostens.
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ORIGINAL STORY – 10/17/23 – The twenty Teachers of the Year from each Delaware School District or Charter Network will be celebrated Wednesday evening at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover. By the end of the night, one of those 20 will be named the Delaware Teacher of the Year and become the First State’s nominee in the national program.
The Delaware Teacher of the Year will receive a $5000 grant to use for the educational benefit of their students as well as a personal grant of $3000. All nominees will receive a $2000 grant from the state.
A social hour will begin at 5pm with dinner at 6pm – the announcement of Delaware’s Teacher of the Year will come at the end of the night.
The Teacher of the Year program will be live-streamed to the department’s YouTube channel. The link also will be shared on our facebook page. The livestream will begin after dinner, estimated at 7:10 p.m.
The 2024 District/Charter Teachers of the Year are:
- Appoquinimink: Cory Hafer of Middletown High (engineering and science)
- Brandywine: Nader N. Makarious of Brandywine High (chemistry)
- Caesar Rodney: Melissa Rapp of Caesar Rodney High (social studies)
- Cape Henlopen: Rachel Peacock of Cape Henlopen High (chemistry)
- Capital: Alexandra Griffith of William Henry Middle (English language arts and social studies)
- Charter Network: Stephanie Trainer of The Charter School of Wilmington (social studies)
- Christina: Emily Szymanski of the Brennen School (early intervention)
- Colonial: Michelle Reutter of John G. Leach School (special education)
- Delmar: Lauren Webster of Delmar Middle (science)
- Indian River: Kasey Revel of Sussex Central High (agriscience)
- Lake Forest: Stephen West of Chipman Middle (social studies)
- Laurel: Matthew Wood of Laurel High (agriscience)
- Milford: Victoria Hudson of Benjamin Banneker Elementary (art)
- New Castle County Vo-Tech: Tim Dorsey of Delcastle Technical High (science)
- POLYTECH: Shannon Legg of POLYTECH High (automotive technology)
- Red Clay Consolidated: Angela Morrow of Richey Elementary (fifth grade)
- Seaford: Karent Díaz Ríos of Seaford Central Elementary (Spanish immersion)
- Smyrna: Laura Massey of Clayton Elementary (reading intervention)
- Sussex Tech: Anthony Varrato of Sussex Technical High (English language arts)
- Woodbridge: Stephanie Sharp of Woodbridge Early Childhood Education Center (multilingual learners)
