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New York Macaroni KID Publisher Recognizes Teachers With Giveaway

Kelly Zaryk asked readers to tell her why their child's teacher is the best

By Kara Murphy May 18, 2022

Kelly Zaryk, publisher of Macaroni KID Pittsford-SE Rochester wanted to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week in a big way in her community.

So she held a contest on her Macaroni KID site to honor local teachers in her community, inviting parents and students to submit why their teacher should win.

"Now is the time to OFFICIALLY show them how much we appreciate all of their hard work!" she wrote on her site.

She received about 40 entries and chose the winning teacher based on the number of votes she received.

Kelly presented Chelsea Barker, a 4th-grade teacher in Fairport, N.Y., with a basket of yummy cake pops from Gourmet Goodies, a local business in her town. Kelly also gave Ms. Barker copies of all the submissions she received nominating her. 

One of the submissions read:

She goes above and beyond to make learning fun!!! From basketball math competition (where she wears her referee shirt) to glow day where she blacks out the room, plugs in black lights, has the kids wear neon colors and they do their work with highlighters. She is amazing!! Chelsea is so kind, caring and has amazing parent communication!!

Kelly surprised Ms. Barker and her class – a moment the district caught on video and shared on their Facebook page:

Kelly, who previously worked in the hospitality industry planning conferences all over the world, joined Macaroni KID as a publisher in January 2021. She likes to do giveaways with local businesses both as a way to highlight the business and give her readers something extra to smile about. 

"I love being a publisher because I love connecting local businesses and providing an important resources to parents," she says.

We're so proud of the ways Macaroni KID publishers like Kelly Zaryk make an impact on their communities. Interested in finding out about joining our team and becoming a Macaroni KID publisher in your community? Get details at JoinMacaroniKID.com!