Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

Taniece Thompson-Smith recognized as the 2024 Texas State Teacher of the Year

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Taniece Thompson-Smith, an elementary school teacher from Abilene, Texas, has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit Abilene ISD

It is always my pleasure to share the news that an exceptional educator has earned accolades for her work in the classroom. Today, I share the story of Taniece Thompson-Smith, an elementary school teacher from Texas who has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Taniece teaches science and social sciences to fifth graders at Stafford Elementary School in Abilene. She has taught there for three years. Because she is the spouse of a military serviceman, Taniece has moved frequently, and so she has taught in numerous states throughout the country, and also in Jamaica and Japan. In all, her career as an educator spans 14 years.

The honored educator is a big believer in the power of education. “Education is a powerful equalizer; it’s not what you teach, it’s how you teach,” asserts Taniece. “Never underestimate the power of connections,” she declares. “We can’t teach our students to care about education until we show them that we care about them. Learning and growing together is a beautiful thing!” she continues.

In addition to her work with students, Taniece serves her campus in a variety of other ways, including leading district-level professional development workshops, acting as a mentor and speaker for 75 middle and high school girls, and presenting at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Clay Minerals Society International Organization.

Taniece earned her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Brooklyn College in New York in 2002. She also earned her graduate-level teacher certification from Rider University in New Jersey in 2008 and a Master’s degree in Teaching with a Concentration in Multicultural and Social Justice Education from California State University in Fresno, California, in 2015.

In addition to her recognition as Texas State Teacher of the Year, Taniece earned similar honors from Stafford Elementary, Abilene Independent School District (ISD), and the Region 14 Education Service Center.

 

Taylar Flaming earns 2024 Horizon Award from Kansas State Dept. of Education

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Elementary school teacher Taylar Flaming has earned a 2024 Kansas Horizon Award from the Kansas State Department of Education. She is pictured here at center, with Superintendent Cory Gibson  at left and Starside Elementary School Principal Jan Hicks at right. Photo Credit: Starside Elementary School

I always enjoy sharing news about outstanding teachers who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. Today, I shine a spotlight on Taylar Flaming, an elementary school teacher from Kansas. She is one of 32 teachers who has been recognized with a 2024 Kansas Horizon Award from the Kansas State Department of Education.

Taylar teaches third grade at Starside Elementary School in De Soto. “Taylar is a great team player at Starside,” declared Jan Hicks, the school’s principal. “She seems to have an old soul and be so knowledgeable beyond her years. She is fantastic with students, parents and staff members,” Hicks continued. “She has a minor is special education from Pitt State. Because of this, I made her a SPED classroom. She has done a remarkable job working with the equipment necessary for her students and helping them be successful,” Hicks concluded.

Taylar earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Pittsburg State University.

The Horizon Award is a program developed by the Kansas State Department of Education that honors and recognizes exemplary first-year teachers. Four elementary and four secondary classroom teachers may be selected for the award from each of four regions for a total of 32 teachers throughout the state of Kansas.

Congratulations, Taylar!

Elizabeth Curtis named a 2024 inductee into the University of Alabama Hall of Fame

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Retired elementary school teacher and principal Elizabeth Curtis of Alabama has been named a 2024 inductee into the University of Alabama Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: University of Alabama

Many exceptional educators have made the teaching profession their life’s work. Elizabeth Curtis, an elementary school teacher from Alabama, is one of these. For her dedication, she has just named as a 2024 inductee into the University of Alabama Hall of Fame.

In a career career that spanned more than 50 years, Elizabeth has taught multiple age levels, including preschool, elementary school, and community college. She inaugurated her career a an educator when she accepted a position as a first-grade teacher at Central Elementary School in Tuscaloosa. She also taught for a short time in Phenix City, Alabama, and in New Orleans. But in 1986, she returned to where her heart lay, in Tuscaloosa City Schools. She worked for a time as a second-grade teacher at Verner Elementary, but by 1990, she was the school’s Assistant Principal. Two years later, she was promoted to the position of  Principal. Under her leadership, Verner Elementary became the highest-performing school within the Tuscaloosa City Schools (TCS) system and the state. As a result, Elizabeth was recognized as the PTA Principal of the Year.

In 1998, the governor of Alabama selected Elizabeth’s school as one of several pilot schools for a new program called the Alabama Reading Initiative. The pilot program proved so successful that it was expanded gradually throughout the state. Today, the program is still ranked as the No. 1 reading program in the nation.

After serving 28 years at Verner Elementary, Elizabeth retired in 2019. But did she stop working to improve education? No! She went on to become the Director of the TCS Future Leaders Instructional Academy. Today, she continues to serve as a substitute for Tuscaloosa City principals, and she conducts exit interviews for TCS Human Resources. In 2021, Verner Elementary named its library in honor of the accomplished educator, recognizing her legacy as a teacher, a principal, and a beloved instructional leader.

Elizabeth earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Alabama in 1970. She earned her Master’s degree from the same institution. She has also been inducted into both Kappa Delta Pi International Honorary and Kappa Delta Epsilon.

To read more about Elizabeth Curtis, click on this link to the University of Alabama.

 

NV teacher Yamilet Lopez garners prestigious 2024 Milken Educator Award

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Nevada teacher Yamilet Lopez has garnered a prestigious 2024 Milken Educator Award. Photo Credit: Milken

Teachers all over the country are getting excited to learn that the winners of the prestigious 2024 Milken Awards are being announced. Today, I am excited to share the news that one of the recipients is Yamilet Lopez, an elementary school teacher from Nevada.

Teacher Magazine has described the Milken Educator Awards as the “Oscars of Teaching.” In addition to a $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the honor includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 3,000 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country who work together to strengthen best practices in education. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.

Yamilet teaches kindergartners at Alice Maxwell School in Reno. There she develops hands-on, enriching instruction that not only prepares her students for the transition to first grade, but also equips them with language and vocabulary skills that surpass typical kindergarten standards. And the progress her students make is measurable. For example, by the end of the school year, her young students have mastered the entire alphabet, along with each letter’s sound, and they demonstrate the ability to compose short paragraphs. Always seeking new, exciting instructional strategies, Yamilet has developed a method called “spicy writing” to teach students how to add details to their narrative writing.

Yamilet also contributes to professional development. She has participated in the Department Chair Cohort through the Regional Professional Development Program (RPDP), where she plays a pivotal role in creating resources and webinars for teachers and promotes positive teacher and parent relationships within the district. Additionally, her involvement as a panelist for the school’s kindergarten town hall shows her dedication to connecting families to the program and ensuring sustained educational success for each child.

Yamilet earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 2012. She says she will use her prize money to finance a Master’s degree.

 

 

NE elem teacher Ivette Kinney earns 2024 Agriculture in the Classroom award

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Ivette Kinney, an elementary school teacher from Omaha, Nebraska, has earned a 2024 Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. Photo Credit: Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation

Many educators all over the country are featuring farm to table curriculum in their classrooms. One of these is Ivette Kinney, an elementary school teacher from Nebraska. In fact, she has done such a great job with her curriculum that she has earned a 2024 Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation.

Ivette teaches second grade at Mari Sandoz Elementary School in Omaha. In her classroom, she incorporates agriculture in her lesson-planning through a program called Classroom Visits sponsored by the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. Ivette signed up for classroom visits, and later she recruited her entire second-grade team to participate. Now, every second-grade student on her campus participates in a Classroom Visit during the course of the year.

Included with Ivette’s Teacher of the Year honors is a $250 Amazon gift card, an agriculture book bundle, and an expense-paid trip to the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. The conference, which will be held June 24-27, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah, brings educators together from all over the country to learn how to use agricultural concepts to effectively teach core subjects such as reading, math, science, and social studies. The conference features recognition for Teacher of the Year honorees, educational workshops, traveling workshops to agri-businesses and research facilities, and farm tours.

The mission of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is to engage young people, educators, and the general public to promote an understanding of the vital importance of agriculture in the lives of all Nebraskans. For more information about the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, visit www.nefbfoundation.org. And here is a two-minute You Tube video about Ivette.