Surprise!

Two Tamaqua Area School District paraprofessionals had no idea that they were receiving awards.

Tamaqua Elementary School Principal Laura Shook and Tamaqua Assistant Superintendent Steve Toth presented Lynn Zancofsky and Stephanie Krause with the Apple Award in front of many faculty and administration members on Wednesday.

The Apple Award is presented to educators in the state for exceptional efforts in teaching, coaching and other efforts that support educational excellence. It recognizes members of the educational community who make a positive difference in the lives of students, school districts and the community.

“I thought that it was a joke,” Zancofsky said. “I just didn’t understand why we were coming to a training and a faculty meeting, because paras usually don’t come to a faculty meeting. We do get invited to trainings throughout the year, so when it was presented to us yesterday, and then we got told that we needed to dress professional … I thought I always dressed professional?! It was ironic yesterday, but it’s great to be here today.”

West Penn Elementary School third-grade teacher Michele Bittner was a 2020 Teacher of the Year finalist, which allowed her to nominate two individuals for the award.

“I nominated them in December before I even left Hershey for that big event, because we were talking about it there,” Bittner said. “There was nobody else that came to mind more than Stephanie and Lynn. This morning, I was thinking about it as I’m ready to come to work — how it was months that I haven’t heard anything about it. I found out today that they would be receiving the awards.”

Zancofsky, a Tamaqua native, has been a paraprofessional for 17 years and has spent the last four at West Penn. Besides her normal job duties, she can be found helping at athletics events and doing pretty much anything she can to help.

“I love the children. I love to see them smile,” Zancofsky said. “I like to help them succeed in their day to go forward. It’s great to watch the children come in and be a part of their day and be successful with them. Elementary, it’s great, because sometimes they come in and they’re walking down the hall without a smile, jackets hanging off them — I just want to be that pickup because they look forward to that. Saying that happy Monday, or let’s go Raiders — that cheering on to get through the day.”

Krause, a former paralegal, has lived in the area since 2005. She has been at West Penn Elementary as a paraprofessional for three years. Just like Zancofsky, Krause goes above and beyond every day that she walks though the West Penn doors.

“My favorite is working with the kids and watching them progress,” Krause said. “The three years that I’ve been there, I’ve basically been with the same group of kids (third-fifth grade). Watching them become better versions of themselves and making them laugh. I like to learn with them and help them learn.”

Zancofsky and Krause both work with Bittner this year. “We certainly as teachers would not be able to do it without them,” said Bittner. “They’re my eyes when I can’t have eyes on everybody. It really is amazing the things that they do. They are phenomenal.”