Mohawk Elementary School Substitute Teacher Wins National Award

Retired police officer, now substitute teacher Nicolae Boariu has the best stories.

After an impressive 30-year career in law enforcement, he’s got a bank of about 25 to 30 stories suitable for the classroom. They’re so good, the students at Mohawk Elementary School have to earn them by behaving.

“Sometimes they put in a request for a certain story,” Boariu said. “If I get cut short, I tell them I owe them and, boy, do they remember.”

What the students and teachers at Mohawk don’t have to earn is his help.

“Mr. B’s willingness to continue to serve even in retirement is a testament to his true character,” said Dr. Loree Houk, assistant to the superintendent.

That’s why Boariu, a Bessemer resident, was selected by Kelly Educational Staffing as the National Substitute Teacher of the Year among 55,000 substitute teachers.

“He genuinely cares about the students and takes the time to know them and understand them,” said Brad J. Meehan, principal of Mohawk Elementary. “The students care about Mr. B as well. He is one of the most popular adults in the building.”

Boariu said he was surprised to receive the award, but he’s not a stranger to teaching.

Originally from Ellwood City, Boariu lived in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. for most of his career, serving as an auto theft detective, deputy sheriff and new recruit instructor.

When he retired, he returned with his wife to Pennsylvania, where he picked up teaching again, this time in a classroom filled with much younger students.

“I enjoy seeing students learning, seeing them understand,” he said, adding that the faculty at Mohawk Elementary make it easy for him to get started with a prepared lesson plan before every class.

Even when he is not called in to substitute teach in the grade school, Boariu can be found in places where help is always needed, such as in kindergarten, cutting and tracing.

“When there is work that needs done,” he said, “I just don’t want to sit still.”

Cox Media Group