Gloucester Twp. Educator Named Camden Co. Teacher Of The Year

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A Gloucester Township teacher has been named Camden County's Teacher of the Year, the New Jersey Department of Education announced Tuesday.

Heide Kowalski is an English teacher at Ann A. Mullen Middle School. She was one of 21 educators honored as a 2025-26 County Teacher of the Year.

Individual schools select Teachers of the Year, who can then apply for the county honor through the Governor’s Educator of the Year Program. The honorees network with colleagues throughout the state an serve as ambassadors for New Jersey's public schools during the school year.

A panel of educators will then select a State Teacher of the Year based on written applications, video submissions and interviews with the top finalists. The state winner then competes for National Teacher of the year.

Here's more on Kowalski from the state education department:

"Heide Kowalski holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in German from Ursinus College, where she competed in Division III gymnastics. Her international experience includes five years in Germany, where she worked and taught, shaping her innovative teaching approach. She earned a master’s degree in science education from Rutgers University and is completing her supervisor certification at Rowan University. Her expertise in science and English has resulted in being selected for grants, such as the Educator’s Institute on Biodiversity and the Kennedy Center’s Changing Education Through the Arts program, a grant dedicated to arts integration.

Throughout her career, Heide has fostered partnerships between educators and the community to provide hands-on opportunities for students to partake in environmental initiatives such as building a rain garden with South Jersey Land and Water Trust and planting trees for Arbor Day with the Shade Tree Commission.

Heide also serves as an instructional team leader, a mentor, and a champion of implementing Restorative Practices and Mullen’s 'CARE' values of collaboration, accountability, respect, and empathy. In Heide's classroom, every student is valued, respected, and heard. Her classroom is a place where every student finds a safe haven where they feel welcomed, valued, and respected, a place where their voices are heard, and their unique strengths are celebrated."