WEST ORANGE —Throughout Erica DePalo's nine years at West Orange High School, the young English teacher won Essex County Teacher of the Year honors as she focused much of her attention on freshman and sophomore students, guiding them through the daunting passage from middle school.

In the classroom, she taught honors English, creative writing, college prep and journalism. Outside, she coached junior varsity girls tennis, helped design the curriculum for a freshman seminar course meant to ease that transition and led a team out to create smaller communities within the 2,000-student school.

Today, in a criminal case that has shocked the school district and drawn national attention, DePalo made her first appearance in Superior Court in Newark, pleading not guilty to having sex with a 15-year-old male student.

Her arrest has highlighted what law enforcement officials see as a statewide rise in the reported cases of number of teachers charged with sexually abusing their students.

Dressed in a black suit with her dark hair pulled into ponytail, DePalo, 33, was silent for today’s brief hearing in which she was formally charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

She walked out of the courthouse shaded behind sunglasses and surrounded by her attorney, her father and friends.

When news hit of DePalo’s arrest nearly two weeks ago, it came as a complete shock, said school board vice president Paul Petigrow. "Nobody I knew had a clue," he said.

DePalo’s dedication to students and participation in numerous school committees made her an obvious choice as West Orange teacher of the year for 2011, according to Petigrow, who served on the selection panel.

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She had an excellent reputation as a teacher," he said. "We were impressed." DePalo won the Essex County teacher of the year award in July 2011, which put her in the running for the state’s top prize, and that September received a commendation from the Essex County Freeholders who recognized "her outstanding and highly successful efforts to educate and inspire her students."

Outside the courtroom today, her lawyer, Anthony Alfano, said his client "is extremely grateful for the overwhelming amount of support she has received from fellow teachers, peers and the West Orange community." He would not comment on the allegations, but said DePalo "maintains her innocence."

In a statement, West Orange schools interim superintendent Jim O’Neill said in part, "the school district will cooperate with the prosecutor’s office in every way." DePalo, a Villanova University undergraduate who received a master’s degree from NYU, has been suspended.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said the child sex abuse scandal involving former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has been a catalyst. Although her office has not done statistical analysis on the issue, Murray said, "I know the call volume to the (state) Division of Youth and Family Services went up dramatically after Penn State, so I think awareness has been raised."

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli went a step further, telling The Record in a recent interview he classified the rise in cases as "alarming."

Late last month, a teacher in Union County who runs a baseball academy in Morris County was charged with having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. In May, a female high school social studies teacher and softball coach was charged with having a sexual relationship with a Bergen County male high school student. And in March, a former teacher at William Mason Elementary School in Morris County was charged with sexually abusing two students in 2005 and 2006.

In DePalo’s case, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said she began her relationship with the 10th grader on June 15 and continued until Aug. 28. The Montclair woman, who was arrested three days later, and remains free on $100,000 bail. DePalo, who has no prior criminal record, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Her next court date is Oct. 22.

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The 15-year-old boy — who was not identified — is the only victim in this case, Scoles said.

Assistant Prosecutor Gigi Scoles would not say how authorities discovered the alleged crime but said none of the encounters took place on school grounds.

In an online video clip accompanying her Essex County teacher of the year award, a smiling DePalo discussed her motivation for the job.

"The mark of success for me is getting visits from former students telling me what they remember about our class," she said in the video, which has since been pulled from the New Jersey Education Association website.

"And how a project we’ve done, or a lesson they’ve learned or anything they remember about me personally has influenced them and pushed them onto a path that they might not have originally set out for."

Star-Ledger staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.

Note: The original version of this article incorrectly said Erica DePalo had provided a statement to authorities. She has not provided a statement.

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Related coverage:

• West Orange High School teacher charged with having sex with student expected in court

• West Orange teacher charged with having sexual relationship with 15-year-old student