Category Archives: Education

FL teacher Jesica Pearce garners 2024 Gladys Prior Award for Career Teaching Excellence

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Jesica Pearce, a Special Education teacher from Jacksonville in northern Florida, has earned a 2024 Gladys Prior Award for Career Teaching Excellence.  Photo Credit:University of North Florida

There are many dedicated and deserving educators who work in our nation’s schools. Occasionally, one of them receives recognition for their outstanding achievements. One of these is Jesica Pearce, an elementary school Special Education teacher from Florida. She has garnered a coveted 2024 Gladys Prior Award for Career Teaching Excellence. She is one of four northern Florida educators to win the award, which comes with a $17,000 check.

Jesica teaches students with varying exceptionalities to third, fourth, and fifth graders at Lake Lucina Elementary School in Jacksonville. Her career as an educator spans 22 years, almost all of them in Duval County Public Schools.

In addition to her Gladys Prior Award, Jesica was named a Duval County Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist. She was also named Lake Lucina Elementary Teacher of the Year in both 2013 and 2023. Furthermore, she has also been honored as a Microsoft Innovative Education Expert and received the prestigious Cindy Edelman Excellence in Teaching Fellowship.

Jesica earned her Bachelor’s degree in Childhood Education. She earned her Master’s degree in Art Eucation from Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts. Currently she is pursuing a second Master’s degree in Global Education through Arizona State University.

The Gladys Prior Awards for Career Teaching Excellence were established in 1998 by philanthropist Gilchrist Berg, founder and president of Water Street Capital, to honor teachers who have accomplished lifelong careers in education. Over the last 26 years, Berg has distributed more than $2 million to honor teachers in the Jacksonville area. The award is named after Berg’s fourth-grade teacher at Ortega Elementary School, Gladys Prior. The University of North Florida College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) manages the award on behalf of Berg.

 

Jackie Freitas named Hawaii’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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Jackie Freitas named 2024 State Teacher of the Year Photo Credit: CCSSO

There are many excellent educators deserving of recognition who work in public schools in the state of Hawaii. One of these is his school agriculture teacher Jackie Freitas. She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Jackie teaches at Leilehua High School in Wahiawa, Hawaii. In a career that spans 13 years, she has worked nearly all of them at Leilehua. There she instructs courses in natural resources and serves as the advisor for her school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) Club.

Jackie teaches her students to grow produce through coding and STEM research. She has introduced her students to lessons on hydroponics, bee apiaries, and more. She has also pioneered a new initiative at the high school which allows students to sell and donate produce to local families. She created a curriculum for animal husbandry in order to give students hands-on experience, and designed lessons in organic farming to train them to become certified organic inspectors for the state. She has also formed partnerships with the State Department of Education for certification in food handling and with the State Department of Land and Natural Resources for hunter education certification.

In addition to working with young people, Jackie also serves as a facilitator for providing professional development and hands-on training to teachers across the state. 

Her advice to colleagues? “Take the time to build a community within your classroom, get to know your students and what they can offer within your classroom, as well as allow students the opportunity to learn beyond your four walls of the classroom,” she says. “There are many ways to incorporate instruction other than just lecturing and worksheets, but rather come up with ways to incorporate labs, hands-on instruction, or different types of technology,” she continues.

Jackie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at the University of Hawaii at West Oahu in 2011. She also earned certification to teach Career and Technical Education in natural resources from Leeward Community College. She is currently pursuing her National Board Certification in natural resources.

TX teacher Lauren Parker participates in NASA Embedded Teacher program

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Junior high school science teacher Lauren Parker inspires her students at Fort Worth Academy in Texas. She was one of eight teachers selected to participate in a NASA Embedded Teacher program. Through this program, she serves as a Limitless Space Institute Educator Ambassador, an International Space Station (ISS) National Lab Space Station Ambassador, and a Tony Space Foundation Teacher Liaison. Lauren is also a winner of the Excellence in Education Award.

Lauren earned her Bachelor’s degree in Science Education in 2006 and her Master’s degree in Middle School Education in 2007, both from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. She has taught at Fort Worth Academy for the past nine years.

IL teacher Sam Figueroa named the 2024 Far North Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year

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Spanish teacher Sam Figueroa has been named the 2024 Far North Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Illinois State Board of Education

There are many outstanding teachers working with our young people in our nation’s public schools. Some of these are singled out for special recognition. One is Sam Figueroa, a high school World Languages teacher from the state of Illinois. He has been named the 2024 Far North Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education.

Sam is a Spanish teacher at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He has taught there for 12 years. In addition to his foreign language courses, he coaches soccer, leads curricular teams, and serves as a club sponsor.

Originally, Sam pursued a career in finance. But while teaching English in Italy, he recognized his passion for working with young people. When he returned to the United States, he worked for two years as a substitute, and another two years as an aide in a therapeutic day school. All the while, he was taking night courses at North Eastern Illinois University in Chicago until he earned his degree.

Since he has been working as a professional educator, Sam has led a shift towards the practice of standards-based grading, he has developed articulation with district middle schools, he has facilitated the incorporation of social-emotional learning and culturally relevant practices in the classroom, and he has created a curriculum called Diversity Friday to highlight under-represented groups within Spanish-speaking countries.

Sam says much of his success with his students is due to the fact that he is open-minded, forgiving, accommodating, and genuinely interested in others. He declares these qualities are integral to his goal of helping others become better, because if students know they are valued, then they will reach their full potential.​

Science teacher Nichole Hantsch named finalist for NY 2024 Teacher of the Year

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Middle school science teacher Nichole Hantsch has been named one of three finalists for 2024 New York State Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Fox 40.

Many excellent classroom teachers work in public schools in New York City. One of these is Nichole Hantsch, a science educator. She has been named one of three finalists for 2024 New York State Teacher of the Year by the New York State Education Department.

Nichole teaches physical science and agriculture to eighth graders at Chenango Forks Middle School in the Chanson Forks School District. She has been at the school for eight years now. In all, her career as an educator spans 17 years.

As a science teacher, Nichole says she is passionate about getting her students excited about science. She believes science education is critical in helping students understand modern advancements such as those taking place in the fields of medicine, technology, power, environmental sciences, and more. But ultimately, her goal is to inspire her students to love science as much as she does.

Furthermore, Nichole says collaboration in the classroom teaches her students important life skills that go beyond science. “I regularly remind them like, you don’t have to be best friends,” she declares, “but we do have to work together. We have to help each other.”

Nichole earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2005, her Master’s degree in Teaching in 2007, and a second Master’s in Biology in 2008, all from Binghamton University, a public institution located in Binghamton, New York.