Penny DePasquale, Hoover Middle School Reading Specialist

Penny DePasquale has worked in the district for 21 years, at Roosevelt, Holmes and Hoover Elementary and primarily at Hoover Middle. Penny has always gone above and beyond for her students in her role as a Reading Interventionist. She leads by example, creating a working library in her classroom before American Reading. This gives students access to reading material and creates clever ways to increase readership. This year, she spearheaded our building-wide Accelerated Reader contest and honored the winners with the district's Smoothie Bike. A tireless cheerleader, Penny shared information via announcements about the difference between “real reading” and “fake reading” and posted weekly word counts by teams, which motivated our students and teachers to increase their dedication to reading. Her colleagues recognized her for her leadership, honesty, integrity, transparency, and her ability to reflect deeply and improve our intervention programs for all students. Penny is happily married to her best friend, Jack DePasquale, and has two boys who received a top-notch education in Ken-Ton: Michael, a doctor in Mississippi, and Ryan a chemical engineer in Wisconsin.