Brittany Brown, an elementary school teacher from Florida, has been recognized in her state as one of five finalists for the state Teacher of the Year in 2021. Photo Credit: spirit.saintleo.edu
I always enjoy sharing stories about exceptional educators who serve as role models for exemplary teaching. One of these is Brittany Brown, an elementary school teacher from Florida who has been recognized in her state as one of five finalists for the state Teacher of the Year in 2021.
Brittany teaches third and fourth grade English language arts at Wildwood Elementary School in Sumter County. Her co-workers describe her as passionate about supporting her students academically through the positive relationships she has built with each of them. In addition, she established the Reading Superstars program to recognize students who have made outstanding gains in reading. Brittany serves as the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) site member for her school, and also as their English/Language Arts representative to the District.
The honored educator says she emphasizes reading skills in her classroom instruction. “Reading is—and I tell my kids—reading is the way it’s your way out of any situation. You have to be able to read and comprehend in order to be successful,” Brittany asserts. “It’s one of those things that many kids don’t like. Unfortunately, they aren’t really exposed to reading at early ages. And so it’s just something that they have to learn to love to do,” she continues. “And so I feel like my job is to help them foster that love for reading, like make them feel like it’s just something that’s just super cool, something they need to do. But I think is really important,” she concludes.
Brittany earned her Bachelor’s degree in Family and Community Services in 2011 from the University of Florida and her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Administration in 2015 from Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Florida.
This year’s five 2022 Teacher of the Year state finalists were selected from over 185,000 excellent public school teachers throughout Florida. The other four finalists were Jim Schmitt of Duval County, Sarah Ann Painter of Pinellas County, Kari Johnson of Sarasota County, and Frank Garaitonandia of Volusia County. The 2022 Florida Teacher of the Year will be officially named on July 22 in Orlando.
