About

At the annual appreciation dinner, the following employees were recognized. Congratulations!

Shepard Awards

Tina Sturdivant, Science Teacher

Tina is the lead teacher in Science. She is a mentor to other teachers and assisted them in their professional learning in the classroom. Tina is a design team leader and an exemplary instructional coach. She has collaborated across disciplines to share her strong and instructional best-practices with others. She does not just “talk the talk”- she “walks the walk” in utilizing the best practices in her classroom with her students. 

Ben Winchell, Math Teacher 

Ben is the lead teacher in Math and has brought a new dynamic to the role. He has grown in this role over the year, taking over departmental responsibilities for a period of time during the first semester. Ben has brought his style of excitement and teaching of math to others within the department and across campus. He even brings that same excitement to diving into data for the starting point of our freshman to track their growth in math over the year.

Derek Earle, Assistant Director of CTE

Derek is the Assistant Career and Technical Education Director at Pinkerton, and he is also an EMT instructor. He is highly dedicated to his students and the CTE programs within the department, setting high standards and consistently integrating best practices into his work. Derek fosters a strong collaborative learning environment where students take the lead on their educational experience. He has worked with the healthcare industry to improve the program and create opportunities for all Pinkerton students. Derek also works to remove barriers for students to access CTE and has created industry relationships to offer relevant and influential opportunities. Derek is a member of the MCC Advisory Board for HST, and he mentors all CTE teachers, new and old. He teaches every day on top of his normal job, often sharing curriculum and assessments with faculty to create a consistent delivery within NH. Derek has also worked with other Health Science teachers to create state-wide PACE assessments and was named NH HOSA State Advisor of the year in 2017. He has presented with his students at a sending town dinner and is continuing in his role as the HST NH State Lead Teacher until the group can transition to a new Lead Teacher. Overall, Derek is a strong contributor to the CTE community and works tirelessly to enhance the educational opportunities for Pinkerton students.

Brenda Stribling, Physical Education Teacher

Brenda has been an enormous help and confidant during the transition to a new department head over the past couple of years. She has created the department’s supervision schedule; semester unit breakdowns; assisted with equipment orders and maintenance concerns and continues to keep all apprised of ‘what’s next’ as we move through the school year. Brenda serves as our Tech Leader in the Physical Education Department and will often present initiatives for other departments. Brenda has also served as a mentor for one of our newer teachers and for the past four semesters has volunteered to teach six classes per semester which has been an enormous help for all of her colleagues. Brenda serves on three committees: technology, FAC and CIA; she has chaperoned Freshmen Field Day, Graduation and both Proms that occurred this year. Last March, Brenda was a CARES presenter. And finally, Brenda is an amazing Flex teacher for her freshman group!

Janet DeBenedetto, Special Education Teacher

Janet has done an excellent job developing our Special Education Reading Program and is highly recommended by the special education core leadership team. Janet originally was an ACT teacher and was flexible enough to take on the reading teacher role for special education when the previous teacher retired. Janet put in many hours in the development and revising of 6 reading courses. This allowed for a more focused instruction based on student reading needs. This in turn has improved reading skills greatly and gave many students options for reading instruction over multiple years. Janet can be depended on for providing great data on her students progress and provides valuable information to IEP teams. Janet will make herself available to consult on specific students and make reading recommendations. She has worked with case coordinators, has done workshops on QRI, and has helped Resource Teachers provide better reading instruction. Janet’s instruction is well thought out and received well by her students. Janet has a nice blend of caring and structure so many of the students thrive on. When the department has a need such as another class section, Janet can be depended on to help out and take on an extra class. She also makes herself available for summer programming and tutoring which is a great service to our students who may have a regression of skills over the summer.

Dan Holm, Buildings and Grounds

Dan handles many, many "behind the scenes" facility issues and concerns at Pinkerton. He is always available for a phone or radio call to address a facility concern. At one moment he could be cutting and changing ceiling tiles, and the next he could be driving across campus moving furniture for a staff member, or repairing broken or damaged equipment...and he does it all with a smile. Daniel is a hard working, dedicated staff member of Pinkerton Academy and is well deserving of the Shepard Award.

Pam Gaines, BRYT Academic Coordinator

When working directly with our students, Pam demonstrates a genuine respect for the student's experience. In past years, she worked as a Paraprofessional in our explorations program. This year, Pam took on a new role as BRYT Academic Coordinator. In this new position, Pam works with some of Pinkerton's most at risk students. She has voluntarily taken on professional learning experiences in mental health so that she could have the most up to date skills to work with this vulnerable population. Pam has such a calm and steady approach, that students enjoy working with her. Students have a lot on their plate when they come to Pam's classroom, but Pam easily gets them to feel comfortable and to start making academic progress. We truly value what Pam is able to do for our students.

Dave Estes, Security

Dave has spent numerous years as an overnight security officer. Recently, he provided aid to an injured person during an after hours event. Dave stayed with the visitor until Derry Fire arrived. He is reliable, professional, and has provided years of exceptional service. He is a great decision maker regarding after hour emergency phone calls and notifications.

Derek Lee, Dean of Studies & Instruction 

Derek has helped to lead changes in curriculum over the past several years. Working with department heads, teachers, and others, the 6 best practices have been instituted and implemented. He stays abreast of changes in education, state law, and department of education requirements to ensure that we meet the needs of our students and also requirements of the state. As changes occur, Derek solicits the feedback and input of stakeholders across campus to gain perspectives of all sides. This has allowed us to be adaptable in meeting the needs of educating our students and implementing changes in a positive manner.