By Glenn Rolfe

SEAFORD – Blame it on younger brother!

Melissa Pinkerton says her passion for teaching stems from in-house family ties, helping her brother, Steven Wilkerson.

“My brother had a really hard time in school, and he would come to me and ask me for help,” said Ms. Pinkerton. “I would help him, and it just made me realize I had a knack for this. He kind of talked me into it. Then, it kind of all went from there.”

She graduated from Seaford High School in 1996, then Salisbury University. Her official teaching career began with a brief stint in the Woodbridge School District.

Since 2006, she has been part of “The Nest” - the Seaford School District.

And for this coming year she’ll represent the district as its 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year. She learned, somewhat shockingly, of that honor Monday during an outdoor ceremony staged at Bob Dowd Stadium.

Following introduction of Seaford’s six building Teachers of the Years – Alison Perdue Tingle (West Seaford Elementary), Jennifer Brewer (Blades Elementary), Susan DeFord (Central Elementary), Monika Kittell, (Frederick Douglass Elementary), Jordan Crockett (Seaford Middle School) and Ms. Pinkerton (Seaford High School) - Seaford Board of Education President David Tull announced the district’s 2021-2022 honoree.

“I had a moment of, ‘I just absolutely cannot believe this!’ It has been a very long time since the secondary schools have been represented for the district. So, I was just in absolute shock that I was able to show what secondary can do,” said Ms. Pinkerton. “I am just proud of Seaford High School and what we were able to accomplish this year in the pandemic. I am just so proud to represent them at the district level.”

Ms. Pinkerton, Ms. Perdue-Tingle and Ms. Brewer were three finalists for the honor.

A ninth grade English instructor, Ms. Pinkerton alters her delivery of content and instruction. Variety is the spice of life.

“I learned very quickly that you have to relate everything to something that makes sense to them in their world, whether you are talking about 16th Century Shakespeare or whether you are talking about something that is happening right now in 2021,” Ms. Pinkerton said. “So, I try to make sure that everything is relatable to something that they are doing currently.”

Instruction in her class sometimes can be a moving experience.

“I get them moving as often as possible. I try not to have them just sitting in their seats ... ‘Let’s get up and move. Let’s go to a station and do an activity and do some critical thinking about something,’” said Ms. Pinkerton. “That’s what I did for my Teacher of the Year observation. I had them up. I had them moving. They were six feet apart, but I still had them up, moving, going around the classroom.”

Honesty, of course, is the best policy.

“Just relating to the kids before you try to relate any content is the key to all of it. I just have to build a really strong relationship. And then, I can be honest with them. And I can say, ‘This is not going to be as interesting as I would like it to be, but we’re going to get through it. We’re going to power through it together,’” said Ms. Pinkerton. “And usually, they are on your team and they romp right through it with you.”

Ms. Pinkerton and her husband Jared Pinkerton have a daughter Willow Pinkerton, who is a student in the Seaford School District.

As district Teacher of the Year, Ms. Pinkerton will represent Seaford at the Delaware Department of Education Teacher of the Year event in October. It means some extra work, providing video and other required materials.

“But it’s worth it” said Ms. Pinkerton. “It’s absolutely worth it.”