Upper Darby >> A St. Bernadette of Lourdes teacher Tuesday won national recognition as the entire school watched.
Fourth-grade teacher Lisa Carney was honored with the Federal Bar Association’s Excellence in Civics Education Award, an honor bestowed for the first time this year to 22 teachers throughout the country.
Carney, an over 20-year educator who has worked at St. Bernadette’s for six years, was the only awardee in the 3rd Circuit Court jurisdiction (Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey).
“It’s more than I imagined,” said Carney. “I didn’t really realize … how prestigious it actually was until this very moment, actually. I’m thrilled more for the recognition of St. Bernadette’s because we have such a great faculty and the principal (Thomas Tobin) let’s you go above and beyond. I feel a little funny being the one singled out, but it’s a great school.”
Carney was nominated by parent Frank McGovern, who was tasked with writing a 250-word nomination essay on a teacher who has gone above and beyond in teaching civics.
“(Carey) teaches fourth-grade students and is innovative and creative in her approach to teaching. She teaches them about citizenship, the different levels of government (local, state, and federal), and the Constitution,” read a portion of McGovern’s letter. “She does this in unique ways that the students have fun with and do not even realize how much they are learning … The children learn so much about civics at such a young age and this is all due to the efforts and leadership of Ms. Carney.”
Members of the school community and leaders in government sang Carney’s praises for getting students to learn without making it seem like they’re learning. Her “candy-bar election” was cited as being one of her most recognizable classroom projects, where students organize a campaign to elect which candy bar is the best. The project is used to resemble how elections work. Annual field trips to the state capital are also organized by Carney, where students see where the lawmaking process happens, regularly meeting with their state representative and senator on the trip.
“I’m always looking for something that will interest my students,” she added. “You can’t teach from a book anymore so you have to think of innovative ways to do that.”
Carney, who teaches all subjects in her classroom, was also given credit for her ability to make tricks and shortcuts for learning difficult things, like long division.
“It’s fun to see the things click, that’s my favorite part of teaching. It’s when the little lightbulb goes off.” Carney said about why she loves her job. “When they finally get the steps, and you see the ‘ah-ha,’ it’s the most fun for me.”
To celebrate her accomplishment, Upper Darby Mayor Tom Micozzie will work with one of Carney’s students to write a resolution to proclaim April 18 as Lisa Carney day in the township.
“One child is going to help me right this resolution from the heart, because it’s very exciting,” said Micozzie, who invited Carney to be officially recognized before township council for her national honor. “We’ve all had great teachers and I’m sure they’re all going to remember you for years to come. There’s always that certain one who puts you on the right path, and I’m sure you’ve touched a lot of lives in this institution.”
In addition to her award from the FBA, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. – himself a former president of the FBA – and state Rep. Jamie Santora, R-163 of Upper Darby, awarded Carney special citations.
