Each year, State College Magazine advertises for its readers to nominate their favorite teachers in the county. The questionnaire includes information about teacher content, their reasons why the teacher was chosen for this award, and the school in which that teacher works. These nominations happen in the winter and then in the May edition, those top results are revealed. This year’s winners included two Bellefonte Area School District (BASD) teachers - Elijah Himes and Molly Hoover! Both of these teachers work at the Bellefonte Area Middle School (BAMS) and the students and staff are lucky to have these individuals be a part of their days. 
Elijah Himes is a 6th grade Social Studies teacher at BAMS. He is also involved with their Spirit Committee. This is Himes’ first year at BASD and his students absolutely love being in his classes. He is always trying to keep the content engaging and relevant. On winning the award, he had this to say, “I am incredibly grateful and appreciative of this high honor. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my co-workers, students, mentors, family and friends, and my previous educators. This is my first year at Bellefonte Middle School and I have felt nothing but support and guidance from all faculty and staff - thank you for welcoming me into this community and for all of the continued support!"
Molly Hoover also teaches 6th grade at BAMS. Her content speciality is English Language Arts. Hoover has been in the classroom for 31 years! She is also involved with the Spirit Committee at the middle school. Hoover’s experience in education is unmatched with teaching at a variety of levels within BASD. She loves her job and has cherished the last 31 years. On winning this year’s award, Hoover states, “I feel incredibly fortunate to have always worked alongside outstanding teams of teachers, support staff, school counselors, and principals. Their dedication and support make it possible for me to do my job seamlessly. The educators I currently work with, as well as those I’ve worked with in the past, are exceptionally hard working, passionate about their roles, and deeply committed to making a difference in their students’ lives. I genuinely look forward to seeing my teammates every day!”
The Bellefonte Area School District is immensely proud of Mr. Elijah Himes and Mrs. Molly Hoover! The dedication that they give to their students, their content, and their pedagogy is unrivaled. Their students look forward to attending their classrooms each day and those memories and knowledge learned will last a lifetime.
You can read the SCM article here.