Dover High Dance Teacher Named N.J.'s Best
Hannah Olmo started with one dance class. Eight years later, her program has grown
into something much bigger — and earned her the state's highest teaching honor.
Eight years ago, Hannah Olmo arrived at Dover High School with a goal: give students a place where they could express themselves, build confidence and feel like they belonged.
What started as one dance class has grown into a four-year program serving
approximately 100 students. Now, the teacher behind it has earned New Jersey's
highest teaching honor.
Olmo was named the 2026-27 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year on Oct. 7 after
previously being selected as Morris County Teacher of the Year.
The Dover Board of Education celebrated her achievement Tuesday, Oct. 13, with
speeches, tributes from students and a dance performance honoring the educator who
helped bring dance education to the district.
"I'm so incredibly proud to be a Dover educator and represent the incredible teachers
here in our district," Olmo told the board.
But her journey toward the award began long before she arrived in Dover.
As a 16-year-old student in Indiana, Olmo advocated for dance education at her own
high school, where students did not have the opportunity to study dance as part of their
regular education.
Years later, she helped create that opportunity for Dover students.
According to the New Jersey Department of Education, Olmo developed a four-year
dance program that now serves approximately 100 students through classroom
instruction. More than 80 students also participate in extracurricular dance
opportunities.
She founded the school's Dance Club, established its first chapter of the National Honor
Society for Dance Arts and helped revitalize the Latin Mix Club, giving students
additional opportunities to celebrate their cultures through dance.
Superintendent Luis Jaime said Olmo's impact extends well beyond teaching students
how to perform.
"Not every student finds an easy way to express themselves through words," Jaime
said, describing how her classroom has helped students develop confidence, support one another and discover strengths they may not have known they possessed.
"This is so much more than teaching dance," Jaime said. "That is helping young people
discover who they are and who they can become."
Students shared what Olmo has meant to them. Two Dover High School dancers thanked their teacher for lessons that extend beyond choreography, including confidence, teamwork and dedication.
A group of Latin Mix dancers then performed in her honor, offering a preview of the
school's Hispanic Heritage Festival.
During her remarks, Olmo thanked district officials, fellow educators and Janet Gaynor-
Matonti, Dover's supervisor of fine and performing arts, for helping make the program
possible.
She recalled a conversation with Gaynor-Matonti when she was hired eight years ago.
Asked what she was looking for in Dover, Olmo had a simple answer: a home.
She wanted to create a space where she and her students could feel they belonged.
Over time, she said, the dance studio became exactly that.
"The dance studio has become so much more than a classroom," Olmo said. "It is a place filled with their stories, their cultures, their creativity, their laughter, and so much love."
The program has also opened doors beyond Dover High School.
According to the state Department of Education, students have earned recognition at
the Morris County Teen Arts Festival and the State Teen Arts Festival. Some graduates
have continued studying dance in college or pursued careers as dancers, choreographers and educators.
Olmo, who earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Rutgers University, also
produces the district's annual Spring Dance Concert, which features more than 100
student performers. Her recognition comes through theTeacher of the Year program, which honors an educator from each of the state's 21 counties before narrowing it down to the Garden State's best.
As Teacher of the Year, Olmo will have opportunities to represent educators
across New Jersey and advocate for arts education. But during Tuesday's celebration, she focused on the students who have shaped her career.
"My students are the reason I do this work," Olmo said. "They are the reason I will continue to fight for dance education and for the arts in our schools."
She ended her remarks by thanking those students for helping create the sense of
belonging she had hoped to find when she first came to Dover.
"You are the true heartbeat of my career," she said.
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