June 3, 2021
By Jude McElroy
Staff Writer
English and Public Speaking teacher Mr. Belmont is LHS’ 2021 teacher recipient of the Governor’s Educator of the Year Award. This award, which requires faculty and staff nominations, recognizes a teacher who is committed to promoting educational innovation, pushes for student achievement and provides a classroom environment that leads students to success.
Belmont said principal Ms. Vuono and supervisor Ms. Klein met with him earlier this year to share the good news with him.
“They told me that I had been selected, which was great. It was a huge surprise,” Belmont said.
Mr. Belmont, who has worked at LHS for nine years, currently teaches English I, Public Speaking and Advanced Public Speaking. He also co-advises Peer Group Connection, which is a program in which seniors meet monthly with a group of freshmen whom they mentor. Additionally, Belmont began serving as the school’s technology specialist this year.
He grew up in Jefferson Township, where he attended public schools for his K-12 education. He went on to study at Seton Hall University in South Orange where he earned a degree in secondary education with a concentration in English along with a certification in Information Technologies. In 2018, he received a master’s degree in Educational Technology from New Jersey City University.
Belmont said his educators inspired him to enter the profession.
“I had really really great teachers when I was going through high school. It’s almost a cliché at this point, but I wanted to be a good teacher to others,” Belmont said.
Outside of teaching, Belmont said he enjoys baking bread and coding. He said he has coded many websites over the years, including his teacher website.
Senior Iris Gonzales said she has enjoyed being in Belmont’s freshman English class as well as serving as a peer leader.
“Being in the Peer Group Outreach program is very fun, and Mr. Belmont being one of the advisors makes the program run smoothly,” Gonzales said. “It has also been a success so far despite the current [pandemic] situation we face.”
Gonzales said she enjoys working with the freshmen and being able to share what Belmont and the Peer Group Connection co-advisors have taught her.
She said a unit that stands out to her from Belmont’s ninth grade English class was research paper writing.
“Mr. Belmont gave me great pieces of advice to get the best grade possible, and by following his advice, I was able to get a nearly perfect score on my research paper,” Gonzales said.
“I had really really great teachers when I was going through high school. It’s almost a cliché at this point, but I wanted to be a good teacher to others.”
Like Gonzales, freshman Erick Vergara said he has enjoyed being a part of Belmont’s ninth grade English class.
“[Each student] got to choose a song for a Spotify playlist. It was very cool, considering the fact that no teacher has ever done that in any of my classes before. There was a wide variety of songs, and it was very enjoyable to listen to,” Vergara said.
Vergara said Belmont’s innovative and interactive teaching practices make him a standout educator.
“He likes to try new types of online learning websites. For example, I had never heard of Gimkit before I had his class. He even makes his own videos that he posts on YouTube on a variety of topics in English,” Vergara said.
He said Belmont deserves to be Teacher of the Year.
“Mr. Belmont is one of the best teachers that I have ever had. He finds new ways to make learning enjoyable,” Vergara said. “He has the drive to teach students while making it as enjoyable as possible.”
