Andrew Policelli earned a WISE (Working in Support of Education) Gold star teacher Award for the 2022-23 school year. Policelli, who teaches personal finance, gourmet foods, and culinary arts, earned this award for a high pass rate in his finance class.

While he was recognized last year, this is not the first year Policelli has received the award. WISE gives these awards for a 93% pass rate for the WISE financial literacy test.

Policelli said that a teacher can get the award for any one block that meets the qualifications. “I usually teach two blocks per semester, last year I had three blocks, and this year I have four blocks, so if I have one block where 93% pass, you get the award,” Policelli said.

“A lot of the time it’s just getting lucky and getting a good group of students, and if you have a good group of students that are engaged and are paying attention you have a pretty good chance of getting the award,” Policelli said.

The award has been earned by other finance teachers, including personal finance teacher Stephane Longchamp, as well as former personal finance teacher Jennifer Marden

“I don’t think I’m a spectacular teacher or that I do anything special or different from other teachers. But for me personal finance is one of the most important classes you will take in high school because everything we talk about in personal finance is relevant and you will use 90-100% of it in your life at some point if not already,” Policelli said.