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The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer

Elizabeth Gingrich accepts her award from School board President Barbara Fraterrigo, center, and Superintendent Marie Wiles. A second-grade teacher at Westmere Elementary who has worked at Guilderland for more than 20 years, Elizabeth Gingrich “is a teacher that truly does go above and beyond in three different ways,” said Beth Bini. Gingrich enhances curriculum, develops social and emotional balance in her students, and serves as a leader at Westmere, her principal said. “She finds innovative ways” to support her students, Bini said, tailoring her teaching to fit individual needs. Gingrich helped start a building-wide program to recycle juice pouches. Her students collect, wash, and ship them to a group that helps meet basic needs in other countries. “She teaches her students how the smallest of acts can have the greatest payoff,” concluded Bini.