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Board honors educators of the year and student state champions including SkillsUSA winners
Summary
Robbinsville honored educators across buildings and recognized three students as 2026 New Jersey state gold medal recipients for their BridgeEd project; student council and PTAs also reported end‑of‑year activities.
The board recognized multiple educators and education service professionals from Robbinsville schools at the May 19 meeting and honored three students who won gold at the 2026 New Jersey SkillsUSA competition for their BridgeEd innovation project.
Dr. Pizzo introduced the student honorees: "First, if Sanket Orem could please come up. And Spandana Orem. And Rudy Paschem. Congratulations." Student speaker Sander Rune described the project as a BridgeEd app and podcast pairing soft‑skills training with classroom instruction developed with industry mentorship.
At the high school, Melissa Avellino was praised for supporting budgeting, co‑curricular activities and contributions to the drama program. Pond Road Middle School recognized Mark Henley (ERI classroom) and Jake Phillips (school counselor) for five years of service and student support. Sharon Elementary principal Dr. Nicole Boutier introduced teacher Jess Busnitsky as Teacher of the Year and Caitlin Passifaro as Educational Service Professional of the Year for leadership in MTSS and child study team work.
Student leaders Karthik Dandabada and Isabella Canoy reported on prom, spring athletic practice adjustments for extreme temperatures, state STEAM competition finalists (hydro breeze), and a June 16 summer reading kickoff in partnership with the Mercer County Library System.
The board and PTAs also summarized teacher appreciation events, scholarship awards and end‑of‑year social activities. The recognitions were followed by group photos and brief comments from honorees and student leaders.
