Penn Manor was honored to welcome Eric Hagarty, Pennsylvania’s acting secretary of education, to its schools on December 22.
Hagarty, the top education official in the state, met with the district administrative team and toured the high school before visiting Hambright and Eshleman Elementary Schools.
He was invited to Penn Manor by Elizabeth Raff, the district’s elementary learning facilitator and Pennsylvania’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.
At Hambright, Secretary Hagarty met with fourth-grade teacher Katie Harnish, who recently returned to the classroom from a teaching fellowship in the Antarctic sponsored by the National Geographic Society and Lindblad Expeditions.
Mrs. Harnish was one of only 50 teachers from the United States and Canada to be selected for the fellowship.
At Eshleman, Hagarty sat in on Richard Bodde’s sixth-grade class, which was completing a math lesson in small groups using whiteboards arranged on multiple walls in his classroom. Mr. Bodde was Penn Manor’s Outstanding Elementary Educator in 2021.
During both stops, Hagarty introduced himself to students and asked for their input on what would make their school experiences more fulfilling. He also talked with teachers and administrators about the challenges they’re facing.
“It was an honor to have Secretary Hagarty visit Penn Manor,” said Dr. Phil Gale, Penn Manor superintendent. “We greatly appreciate his interest in seeing the outstanding work our students and teachers are doing on a daily basis. His advocacy on students’ behalf is what allows educators across Pennsylvania to make a difference.”
It was great to share the good things happening here at Penn Manor with Secretary Hagarty.
