The Rose Tree School District’s Phoebe Simmington, a sixth-grade math teacher at Springton Lake Middle School, and Sandra Lin, a Mandarin Chinese teacher at Penncrest High School, are both finalists for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year in 2017.

There are only a dozen finalists from across the state in the running, writes Patti Mengers of the Daily Times.

According to Mengers, Simmington has been in the district for 17 of her 19 years as a teacher. Lin has been in the school district for six of her 14 years in the teaching profession.

“The honor of being selected as a finalist speaks volumes about these two professionals,” said Rose Tree Media Superintendent James Wigo Sr. “It says that they are respected and admired by their colleagues, our parents and, most of all, by their students.”

“When I visit Mrs. Simmington’s classroom, I am always impressed with the level of thinking and engagement that I observe,” said Penncrest Principal Ralph Harrison. “She brings a high degree of creativity to her lesson design and differentiates for students at a variety of levels, including students that need more challenge and rigor.”

Lin views her job at Penncrest as “a real-life example of East successfully meeting West.”

“I have experienced the joy and the fulfillment of being a daily participant in the development of a child’s life,” she said.

Click here to read more about the Teacher of the Year candidates from the Daily Times.