The nominations are in, and Burrell School District's Ashlee Peters-Roberts is a finalist for the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year.

The 33-year-old 6th-grade Social Studies teacher at Charles A. Huston Middle School is among 12 finalists who will be honored this fall in Harrisburg when the winner of Pennsylvania's Teacher of the Year will be announced.

A Burrell guidance counselor's success with using her goldendoodle as a therapy dog has inspired other educators in the district to train their pets as therapy dogs.

As students adjust to the hardships caused by the global pandemic, Burrell School District leaders are focused on providing the support needed to ensure that students do not fall behind the learning curve.

Two new instructors will help students and teachers with remote learning, serving students in the Burrell eAcademy virtual program and those students in quarantine after exposure to others who test positive for COVID-19.

Morgan Rockwell and Lori Christie began work with the virtual learning program this fall in the Burrell School District. Rockwell works with students in sixth to 12th grade, while Christie serves students in kindergarten to fifth grade.

Change is the name of the game at Burrell this year, but not only because of the pandemic. The district has also added two new teachers, Elizabeth Hartman and Alli Oberdorf, to the roster.

As the Food Service Director for Burrell School District, Andrew Klipple is using his previous experience as a chef to provide healthier and tastier options for students throughout the district.

One of his biggest challenges is following the guidelines set by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which restricts the use of sodium, mandates increases in whole grain, and governs how many calories, vegetables, fruits, and protein each grade should have per meal.