2001 New Jersey Teacher of the Year
Ms. LaSaracina is a grade five teacher at Woodland School in Warren, New Jersey. She has been teaching for ten years and teaches all subjects.

What are your beliefs about teaching?
"Each child should have every opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential in a safe, challenging, nurturing school environment."

How are your beliefs incorporated in your teaching style?
"I challenge myself and my students to always achieve 'best' in all we do because everything we do is a portrait of who we are."

What is your greatest teaching accomplishment?
"My greatest accomplishment is becoming what I hope is a positive role model for students to become life-long learners."

What's the most critical issue facing educators today and what do you think can be done to resolve this issue?
"The most critical issue facing educators today is teacher retention. This can be resolved by increasing the respect of the profession."

Inspirational thought:
"Always strive to do your best and realize that every child can learn."