• Band Director Jay Zimmerman to receive PMEA Citation of Excellence award

    jzIf you ask some of band Director Jay Zimmerman’s students, they’ll likely say the longtime Bellefonte Area teacher has had a positive impact on their lives -- perhaps so much so that junior Andrew Sharp even said it’s partially attributed to Zimmerman that he plans to pursue a degree in education.

    “When talking about Mr. Zimmerman, he’s ones of those very rare teachers who dedicates most, if not all, of this time to his students and the fine arts program,” Sharp said. “All in all, I really just want to say thank you to Mr. Z for showing me what music can do by making (me) a better person.”

    Zimmerman has been selected to receive the 2018 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Citation of Excellence in Teaching Award for District 4. The award will be presented April 21 at the Lancaster Marriott & Convention Center during the 2018 PMEA Annual In-service Conference Awards Breakfast.

    “I was honored to be named as the recipient of this award,” Zimmerman said. “This award is not just an acknowledgement of my teaching. It is also recognition of the overall music program here at Bellefonte (Area) and the efforts of all of the music staff who contribute to the success of our ensembles.”

    PMEA Citation of Excellence recognizes music educators who have made “lasting contributions in their area of teaching.” It’s presented to those music educators on a four-year rotation among elementary, middle school, high school and college levels.

    *By Brit Milazzo, public relations director, BASD