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"GHS is very proud to have Sarah Goldin leading our Innovation Lab, working with AVID, and teaching in the Science Department. She is a gifted educator and highly deserving of the recognition of being a Finalist in the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Program," said Greenwich High School Headmaster Chris Winters.
The State's Teacher of the Year selection committee will visit Goldin's classroom and interview colleagues, students, parents and members of the Board of Education on a date to be determined as part of the selection process.
Based on the site visit and interviews, the state committee will select the 2017 Connecticut Teacher of the Year.
The education commissioner is scheduled to announce the 2017 Connecticut Teacher of the Year during the week of Oct. 10.
Since 2008-09, when Greenwich Alternative High School teacher Anthony Mullen was named the National Teacher of the Year, six Greenwich Public School teachers have advanced to the semifinalist stage of the State Teacher of the Year program.
Three of the six advanced to the Finalist stage – Anthony Mullen, GHS World Language Teacher Rita Baker in 2011, and Sarah Goldin.
Mullen is the only Greenwich Public Schools teacher who has been selected as the Connecticut Teacher of the Year since the State program began in 1952.
The Connecticut Teacher of the Year Program recognizes and honors teacher excellence. It does not attempt to select the "best" teacher; rather, to identify, from among many outstanding teachers of the year, one teacher to serve as a visible and vocal representative of what is best in the profession.
The program celebrates excellence in teaching by recognizing teachers who have inspired a love for learning in their students and who have distinguished themselves in the profession.
Each district teacher of the year is eligible to submit an application to the State Department of Education for consideration as Connecticut Teacher of the Year.
The review of applications identifies 12 to 15 semifinalists, who are invited to make a formal presentation on a pre-assigned topic, and to respond to questions as part of an interview process. Finally, four finalists are visited at their schools, where selection committee members observe the teachers' classes, interview colleagues, administrators, and students, as well as support staff, parents, and local board of education members.
At the conclusion of the site visits, the selection committee meets and selects the Connecticut Teacher of the Year.
In Greenwich, Goldin was one of the six teachers selected and honored by the Greenwich Distinguished Teachers Awards Committee Inc. in April/May. The Superintendent of Schools is charged with selecting from among the six Distinguished Teachers annually, the one teacher that will represent Greenwich in the Connecticut Teacher of the Year program.
In June, then-Superintendent of Schools William McKersie announced Goldin as the Greenwich Representative for the 2017 Connecticut Teacher of the Year program.
Before becoming a teacher in 2009, Goldin spent 11 years in primary science, culminating in a doctoral degree in genetics and development from Columbia University, including seven years working as a full-time laboratory research scientist.
She also worked for four years as a Scientific Advisor and Patent Agent for an intellectual property firm.
In 2009, Greenwich High School welcomed Goldin. She has taught biology and honors biology and was a co-creator of the high school's honors biochemistry course.
Goldin was instrumental in launching the AVID program at Greenwich High in 2010, and in developing the Innovation Lab, which launched in 2015.
She graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor of arts degree in molecular biology, received a master of science in biotechnology from University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, followed by a master of arts and master of philosophy in genetics and development, both from Columbia University in New York. She received a doctorate in genetics and development, also from Columbia University in 2002.
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