Gateway educator named Junior Achievement Teacher of Year

The announcement of Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania’s Teacher of the Year came as a surprise, as intended, for the winner.

“I’m shaking,” Emily Levine said as she greeted a multipurpose room full of cheering students in Monroeville. “This is just unbelievable. I never imagined something like this would happen.”

A third-grade teacher at Gateway’s Dr. Cleveland Steward Jr. Elementary School, Levine was selected from more than 400 nominations throughout western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia in Junior Achievement’s first contest for the area’s top teacher.

Levine’s acknowledgement came at a school assembly on Dec. 8, during which she also was surprised by the presence of family members to help congratulate her.

“There’s so much that Dr. Levine contributes every day, every week, every month to CSE, to make it what it is,” Steward Principal Eric Knorr said, citing a specific example: “Dr. Levine put some countless hours in planning and making sure that you had a spectacular playground that you would be able to enjoy.”

Prior to its unveiling during an afterschool ceremony in April, the school lacked a playground.

“We needed $40,000 to make our dream come to life here, and we were very fortunate to have the support of the community, the students, the staff,” Levine said at the time. “All the stakeholders came together.”

In turn, her fellow educators recommended her for the Junior Achievement honor, also noting her organizing of educational assemblies, and implementing a book vending machine for students and a school store to reward student behavior.

“I’m thankful for all of you students. I’m thankful for my friends, my colleagues, my co-workers. Without all of you, I wouldn’t have the drive to do everything that we do and accomplish here at school,” Levine said at the assembly. “It’s for all of you. I do it for you, and it’s fun.”

Speaking of which, her Teacher of the Year honor includes a prize of two round-trip Delta Airlines tickets to any destination within the continental United States.

Levine earned her bachelor’s degree from Penn State, master’s and principal certification from Gannon University, and doctorate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Also acknowledged in the Junior Achievement contest were Stephanie Staub, Oil City Area School District, second place, and Daniel Shaner, Baldwin-Whitehall School District, third place.

Junior Achievement’s mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed, through lessons that promote financial capability, work and career readiness, and business ownership. For more information about Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania, visit westernpa.ja.org.