Cory Hafer, a Middletown High School teacher in the Appoquinimink School District, is Delaware’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year and the state’s nominee for National Teacher of the Year. Passionate about real-world learning, he helps students apply their knowledge beyond the classroom.

One of his proudest moments was guiding an engineering team to design a warehouse and parking lot, presenting their work to district stakeholders with support from Landmark Engineering mentors. Hafer believes students can solve real-world problems—not just theoretical ones.

A University of Michigan graduate with a Master’s from Columbia University’s Teachers College, Hafer has taught in New York, Massachusetts, and Michigan before joining Middletown in 2019. His innovative teaching has earned him statewide recognition, grants, and prestigious awards.

Through conferences, workshops, district leadership, and instructional coaching, Jed Stefanowicz leads strategic transformation of teaching and learning through the use of digital tools and innovative practices. As Director of Digital Learning and Innovation for the Nashoba Regional School District in  Massachusetts, Jed aims to engage and build staff/student digital learning capacity, keeping the focus on practice over product. As a 30 year elementary educator, coach, speaker, author, and former Massachusetts Teach Plus Policy Fellow, Jed shares his passion for effective tech integration to transform teaching and learning, creating engaging and equitable digital learning environments and experiences that activate, innovate, and motivate digital learning. He is the Author of AIM Toward Digital Learning: Activate, Innovate, Motivate,  Impact to Influence, and Beyond the Bulletin Board.

Jill Johnson, EdD was involved in education for 30 years as a classroom teacher, professional development consultant, and assistant principal before moving into her current role as President of Class Intercom, a social media management company created specifically to serve schools. She holds degrees in language arts education, instructional technology, educational administration, and educational leadership. Her passion, work, and research focus on student-led social media teams, social media management, and authentic content creation in scholastic environments. Dr. Jill has presented at numerous conferences at the state and national level including Innovative Schools Summit, NETA, NSPRA, Marzano Research High Reliability Schools Summit, and the Institute of Academic Sciences STATS-DC Data Conference. Dr. Jill was named the 2018 Nebraska Assistant Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. 

Lindsay Foster has over two decades of educational experience as an elementary classroom educator, a technology applications instructor, an instructional technology coach and coordinator, and an instructional designer. As an instructional designer, Mrs. Foster specializes in issues related to Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) and Accessibility. She was a TCEA Technology Administrator of the Year finalist in 2021 and Connect Campus Instructional Support Member of the Year (2023). Mrs. Foster is currently on the board of TxDLA representing Members-At-Large, and she also served on the 2021 TEA State Board of Education Technology Applications TEKS Review Committee.

Rosie Lowndes is a passionate, second-generation educator who has been surrounded by the world of teaching her entire life, inspired by her mother’s 41-year career in education. Rosie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Middle Grades Education from Mercer University, as well as a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University. Throughout her career, Rosie has taught grades 3-7, and served as an EIP teacher, lead teacher, assistant principal, and principal. She now returns to the classroom as a gifted education teacher for grades 3-5. She has a wealth of experience across both virtual (12 years) and brick-and-mortar (15 years) learning environments, having worked in six schools across four districts. Her guiding principle is, "If better is possible, good is not enough," and she is especially driven by the belief that a student’s zip code should never determine the quality of their public education.

Taylor Hasty serves as the High School Principal and Athletic Director at Silverdale Baptist Academy.  He has served in this dual role since 2019 after spending one year at the Academy as the Director of Athletics. Coach Hasty came to Silverdale from Bryan College in Dayton, TN, where he served as the Head Baseball Coach from 2009 until 2018 and also as the Athletic Director from 2013 through 2018. He graduated from Bryan College in 2006 and received a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration from the United States Sports Academy in 2009. He has been married to Julie for 18 years, and they have 3 children: Maddux (15), Jaxson (12), and Lyla (8). Coach Hasty desires to be a transformational leader who sees those around him grow in character, integrity, and excellence. He wants to equip those around him to make a difference in their spheres of influence, using their gifts and talents to equip others as well.