District honors teachers of the year; administration recommends Danielle Wood as next Mahwah High School principal

The board used the meeting’s first portion to honor Teacher of the Year nominees from across the district, with students, former students and colleagues presenting short remarks about each honoree’s classroom impact.

Student testimony and teacher remarks: Among presentations, Mahwah High School mathematics teacher Mrs. Giuliani was praised for making difficult concepts approachable and for running a student 'Hope' club; senior student speaker Tanisha Kapor said, "Mrs. Giuliani has always broken down intimidating concepts into something that was easier to grasp," and credited her with building students’ confidence. Several other nominees were recognized, including Andrea Sini (special education), a kindergarten teacher at George Washington School (referred to as Mrs. T), and a Joyce Kilmer Elementary physical-education teacher, with multiple former students and parents describing long-term positive effects on student confidence and engagement.

Administrator remarks on nominees: District leaders said the awards highlight the dedication of staff across grade levels and noted a May 20 luncheon with Bergen County districts to honor nominees; the Mahwah school band was selected to perform at that event.

Personnel recommendation: Separately, the administration presented a recommendation to appoint Danielle Wood as the next principal of Mahwah High School, citing her experience as an assistant principal and as a supervisor of special education. The presenter said the candidate emerged from a competitive process that reviewed about 60 applications and included three interview rounds, and that references described Wood as "ready." The board welcomed the recommendation; formal appointment procedures were scheduled in forthcoming personnel actions.

Attribution: Student quotes and teacher remarks above are drawn from the public presentations and were attributed in the meeting to the student speakers and the honored staff.