Category Archives: Education

Maryland educator Jessica Nichols garners honors

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High school Social Studies Jessica Nichols has been named the 2025 Howard County Public Schools System Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Jessica Nichols

I am always eager to share the story of an outstanding educator who works in one of our nation’s public schools. Today, I share the story of Jessica Nichols, a high school Social Studies teacher from Eldridge, Maryland. She has been named the 2025 Howard County Public Schools System (HCPSS) Teacher of the Year.

Jessica teaches at River Hill High School in Clarksville, Maryland. In a career that was inaugurated in 2001, she has spent the last ten of them at River Hill. There she serves on the school leadership team, sponsors clubs, coaches speeches and debates, and organizes professional development workshops.

Before Jessica accepted her position at River Hill she taught at Wilde Lake High School. There many of her students came from impoverished homes. “At Wilde Lake, I used to have a food closet because I would have kids who wouldn’t eat over the weekend,” remembers Jessica, “and I knew when they came to my class you have to do a hierarchy of needs. You have to meet the basic needs before they are going to want to care about AP economics, and government, and psychology,” she says. “No questions asked; if you needed something, you went in the food closet and picked up something to eat and then you jumped right back into the lesson,” she continued.

Her selection as the 2025 HCPSS Teacher of the Year is not the only honor Jessica has earned. In 2024, she was named the Coca Cola Teacher of Distinction, and she was named the Teacher of the Year at River Hill High School. In 2019, she garnered a 

Jessica earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of Maryland in 2001. She completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Human Resource Development from Towson University in 2020. In addition, she is a National Board Certified Teacher.

 

Mathematics teacher Kristy Bishop of Washington state earns honors

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High school mathematics and CTE teacher Kristy Bishop has been named Washington state’s 2025 North Central Regional Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: North Central Educational Service District

How amazing are our nation’s public school educators? Very amazing, I must say. And one of these amazing teaches is Kristy Bishop, a mathematics and CTE (Consumer and Technology Education) teacher from Moses Lake in Washington. She has been named the 2025 North Central Regional Teacher of the Year.

Kristy has been teaching at Moses Lake High School for the past 25 years. There she instructs courses in Consumer Finance, AP Statistics, and Precalculus. She also performs the role of Community Outreach Coordinator for the Quincy School District. In addition, she has participated in several site-level committees, assisted in a large-scale book adoption, and coordinated a major technology adoption. And, as if all that were not enough, she has served as her Math Department Chair, as a mentor for new teachers, and as a union representative.

In her classroom, Kristy is known for fostering a respectful, professional, and compassionate learning environment. And she has a reputation for supporting developmental growth, for encouraging students to be their best selves, and with connecting with her students. In fact, she works diligently to build strong relationships that continue long after graduation.

Her curriculum is designed to have significant meaning for those enrolled in her courses. “Making [real-world] connections for students is not something that happens in a given lesson or activity,” Kristy declares. “It is a daily commitment to learning about and supporting my students as they work to accomplish their own goals.” The effort does not go unnoticed by her students. To show her how much they appreciate her, she has been honored as one of the school’s Staff of the Year in both 2023 and 2024.

This outstanding classroom teacher is a native of Moses Lake. Both her parents are retired educators.

Shelby Borst named 2025 Delaware State Teacher of the Year

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High school Social Studies teacher Shelby Borst of New Castle, Delaware, has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Delaware Live

I am always excited to share the story of an outstanding educator who works in our public schools. Today, I share the story of Shelby Borst, a high school Social Studies teacher from New Castle, Delaware. She has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Shelby teaches college preparatory courses in Sociology and Advanced Placement Psychology to students in grades nine through twelve at William Penn High School. Some of the courses she teaches are dual enrollment. In addition to the courses she teaches at the high school, Shelby also facilitates distance learning courses in social problems, history of the Holocaust and cultural resilience.

Throughout her nine years in the classroom, Shelby has championed  practices that support students and cultivate an environment of growth. “I enjoy creating experiences for students,” declares Shelby, “whether that is something like the posters in my classroom, where they are navigating chapters on their own, and I’m there as a facilitator, or maybe it’s an interactive experience where they go on a safari and they have to figure out what has happened to the different people that are working within that safari,” she continues. “We just recently went on a scavenger hunt the other day for our perception concepts, so students were tasked with using their devices and technology to take photos of these perception concepts, wherever they see closure or similarity or continuity, and they were able to leave the classroom, and the world was theirs,” she explains. “The learning is in their hands, and I’m a facilitator,” she concludes. In addition, Shelby has led schoolwide Tier 1 initiatives designed to foster a strong, supportive school culture by emphasizing inclusivity, equity, resilience, and student engagement.

Shelby is not the only member of her family to go into to the profession. Her aunt was a middle school math teacher who taught special education students. “I remember she would bring me in during the summer. I would help decorate her classroom or help grade little things that she would be able to give me,” Shelby recalls, “So I’ve been around teachers my whole life, and I’ve gotten to see the insides of what it means to be an educator, so I definitely attribute that exposure to her.”

The Delaware educator earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Studies Education from the University of Delaware. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Western Governors University.

 

Director of Bands Maximo Sierra led Pebble Hills High students in Rose Parade

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Music educator Maximo Sierra led the 300-member Pebble Hills High School Spartan Marching Band from El Paso, Texas, in the Tournament of Roses Parade eld on Jan. 1, 2025. Photo credit: Pebble Hills High School

There are many fine music educators who work with young people in our nation’s public schools. One of these is Maximo Sierra, who leads the student musicians that comprise the Pebble Hills High School Spartan Marching Band from El Paso, Texas. He directed the 300-member group in the Tournament of Roses Parade held on Jan. 1, 2025. This is the first appearance for the group in the New Year’s Day Parade.

The Pebble Hills band placed second in the 6A area marching band contest and advanced to state last year. The group also swept the competition at the Coronado T-Bird Invitational in Sept., 2024. The students have performed all over Texas.

Maximo Sierra, Director of Bands at Pebble Hills High School in El Paso, Texas, has been teaching student musicians for 23 years. Photo credit: Pebble Hills High School

In a career that spans 23 years, Director of Bands Maximo Sierra has taught the last eight of them at Pebble Hills High. He has been the only Band Director in the school’s ten-year history. During those years, he helped establish the school’s traditions, including composing the school’s fight song, a piece inspired by movie and video game scores. “It’s in a minor key and very different,” he explains. “We’re proud of it.”

Maximo earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from the University of Northern Colorado and his Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting from New Mexico State University. There he was also a Teaching/Directing Assistant for the NMSU Pride Marching Band, Jazz II, and Concert Bands. Maximo is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, the Texas Music Adjudicators Association, and the International Association for Jazz Education.

Seminole High students appear in 2025 Rose Parade, led by Director of Bands Gerard Madrinan

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The Seminole High School Warhawk Marching Band made their third appearance in the Tournament of Roses Parade today. Photo credit: Seminole High School

I always enjoy watching the Tournament of Roses Parade on the first day of the New Year, and this year was no exception. While watching today’s parade, I was genuinely impressed with the stellar high school bands that appeared in the event. One of these was the Seminole High School Warhawk Marching Band from Seminole, Florida. The 120-member group appeared under the leadership of Director of Bands Gerard Madrinan. This was their third appearance in the Rose Parade. The others were in 2005 and 2013.

The Warhawks are no strangers to honors. These stellar student-musicians appeared in the Disney Christmas Day Parade in 2007 and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2010. They were named the Virginia Beach National Marching Band Festival Grand Champions in 1978, multiple Grand Championships at the Tarpon Springs Outdoor Music Festival and Largo Golden Invitational, and more than 37 years of superior ratings at the Florida Bandmasters Association Marching Festivals. In addition, the Warhawk Band has won Bands of America Regional Finalists a whopping 25 times. They were also named Atlanta Regional Grand Champions twice, a Grand National Semi-Finalists seven times, and Grand Nationals Finalists twice. In 1996, the Warhawk Band was the National AA-Division Champion at the WGI Friendship Cup Championships held in St. Louis, MO.

Director of Bands Gerard Madrinan led the student-musicians of Seminole High School in Seminole, Florida, in their appearance in the 2025 Tournament of Roses Parade. Photo credit: Seminole High School

Gerard has been the Director of Bands at Seminole High School since 2013. His position as Band Director is the realization of a childhood dream. He says he was only ten years old when he decided to become a high school band director. “I always wanted to be a high school band director, and to do it right here at Seminole High,” he reveals. In addition, he serves as the Department Chair for Visual and Performing Arts, where he oversees the marching band, concert bands, jazz band, the winter guard, indoor percussion ensemble, and chamber ensembles.

Before his employment at Seminole High, Gerard served as a music teacher at Clearwater Intermediate School, the band director at Dunedin Highland Middle School, and as an itinerate music teacher at a several schools in Pinellas County. In all, his career as a music educator spans 25 years.

After his graduation from Seminole High in 1999, Gerard earned both his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and his Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of South Florida, From 2005-2008, Gerard was an instructor with the University of South Florida Marching Band.

Additionally, Gerard is a member of the Florida Music Educators National Conference, the Florida Bandmasters Association, and the Pinellas County Music Educators Association. In 2024, he was named Teacher of the Year by Pinellas County Schools.