From right: Amy Hale, Dr. Georgina Trebbe, Lynn Mayotte
Reminder Publishing submitted photos
WILBRAHAM — Three teachers in the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District are being recognized with the 2025-26 Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award for going above and beyond, in and out of the classroom.
This year’s recipients are Mile Tree Elementary School kindergarten teacher Amy Hale, Stony Hill Elementary School special education teacher Lynn Mayotte and Minnechaug Regional High School licensed school library teacher Dr. Georgina Trebbe.
The press release said the recipients are “selected by a committee of local administrators and past recipients based on criteria related to excellence in teaching, professional development, contributions beyond the classroom and respect by peers, parents and students.”
For the past 23 years, the awards program has been made possible by the Harold Grinspoon Chariable Foundation in partnership with MassMutual and the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation, recognizing over 100 educators in Western Massachusetts each year.
Trebbe said she feels grateful in a “really sincere way” to not only receive the award, but to be nominated. She said she doesn’t alway have direct exposure to students every day and the position doesn’t always get recognized.
“I am extremely grateful that someone would consider that I’ve contributed to education in such a profound way,” Trebbe said. “The congratulations from peers, not just at Minnechaug but throughout the district, has been an outpouring. I’m extremely touched by that.”
She said that part of bringing excellence to education requires recognizing what each student needs and strategizing how to give it to them, such as identifying specific learning styles, approaching students where they are and giving them the tools they need to achieve.
“I know that a lot of people say that individualizing is hard, but when you get used to it as a practice, you really recognize what students need,” Trebbe said. “If you can bring that to them, it opens up their world in such a tremendous way that they can achieve what they want to … there’s a lot of little nuances we use to figure out how students both engage and learn.”
Every day is not the same and Trebbe added that teachers are always engaging in different strategies and trying something new, but the overall objective stays the same – that students can gain the skills to transition through school until they leave and engage with the world.
She said it’s rewarding when there are still gains within challenges, and it shows that she’s really working towards building a better cultural and learning environment for the students and her peers. Hale said she was shocked and honored to even be considered for the award, and that she’s grateful to all the educators she has “the pleasure of working with and learning from everyday.”
“I feel like ‘excellent teaching’ is giving students what they need, while also challenging them to be the best versions of themselves,” Hale said. “I think students remember teachers that they feel like them. I think the ‘stuff’ they learn is important, but having them know that I love them and ultimately want the best for them is the goal.”
One thing Hale said she finds rewarding about teaching is seeing a student catch on to something they may have been struggling with.
“Seeing confidence grow in a student as they know they can do it is inspiring,” Hale said. “It makes more of the challenging times less significant.”
Mayotte said she was “extremely honored to receive the award” and that she works with “so many educators that are excellent teachers.”
“They go above and beyond each and every day for their students,” Mayotte said. “The educators at my building, Stony Hill, do this every day and I am privileged to work with such a dedicated staff.”
She said that she hopes her students understand how excited she is for them to reach their goals and would love to be that teacher “they talk about to their own children, that teacher they remember as making a difference in their own learning.”
“I have teachers that I have remembered throughout my career that I still talk about and the difference they made in my own life,” Mayotte said.
She added that every day brings a new reward and a new challenge, but that she believes those are reasons she continues to be an educator.
“I love the reward of watching each and every one of my students grow,” Mayotte said. “I love the challenge of finding ways to make that happen.”
