Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

Elem teacher Dana Andrews named 2023 Outstanding Teacher of the Year by Illinois State PTA

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Elementary school teacher Dana Andrews has been named the 2023 Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Illinois state PTA. Photo credit: The Edwardsville Intelligencer

Congratulations are due to Dana Andrews, an exceptional elementary school teacher who has been named the 2023 Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Parent Teachers Association (PTA).

Dana teaches at Twin Echo Elementary School in Collinsville, Illinois. There she designs curriculum to meet the individual needs of each one of her young students. She uses frequent assessments to help her design instruction that is engaging and promotes individual growth. And the benefits of her strategies are evident to all. Her test scores rank among the highest in her district.

In her practice, Dana places a huge emphasis on relationships. “Her love for her students is evident in her everyday interactions, observes Dr. Julie Haake, Principal of Twin echo Elementary. “She is always cheerful, positive and sharing hugs when walking down the hallway. Her kind nature and warm personality have students gravitating towards her when they see her,” Dr. Haake continues.

To help foster communication between the school and the home, she establishes a folder for each student enrolled in her class. Every day she adds questions, comments, or notes of praise in the student logs, and then she sends the logs home. Each parent is encouraged to add their own questions or comments and then return the folder the next morning. In addition to the daily comments, Dana includes a weekly schedule with the current week’s list of events, plans, and important reminders.

In addition to the communication log, Dana makes daily posts on the classroom website. These posts include pictures of the class activities, updates on the students, and they are currently learning as a class. Furthermore, each week Dana messages parents individually to keep them updated.

Amazing work, Dana!

 

Nanette Hanson named Michigan’s 2022-2023 State Teacher of the Year

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Elementary school teacher Nanette Hanson has been named Michigan’s 2022-2023 State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Michigan Education Association

I am always excited to share the story of an exceptional educator who has won accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Nanette Hanson, an elementary school teacher from Escanaba, Michigan. She has been named her state’s 2022-2023 State Teacher of the Year.

Nanette currently teaches first graders at Lemmer Elementary School in Escanaba. In a career that has spanned more than 25 years, she has taught 17 of them at Lemmer. Those who know her recognize that Nanette’s priority is to build strong relationships with each of her students. Daily she strives to create a strong sense of community, inclusion, respect, and belonging in her classroom.

This mindset is also a big part of her mentoring work with beginning teachers. And Nanette works not only with children and early-career teachers, but she also serves her school as the team leader on the Lemmer Leader in Me Lighthouse Team.

These priorities have their roots in her childhood. As a youngster, Nanette grew up in the small Upper Peninsula town of Gladstone. In those years, the honored teacher recalls, she was troubled by low self-esteem. She once revealed it was caring teachers who led to her personal sense of accomplishment and belief in herself. “I just knew I wanted to be that person for somebody else,” she continued.”“Every day is an opportunity for me to forge that relationship and be that light in someone else’s darkness.”

Inclusion is very important in Nanette’s classroom. “We have a large Native American population, and so I like to incorporate the community,” she declares. “We invite the Indian Education Program to come into our classroom, and they do a wonderful job of sharing the culture with our students, some of whom are Native American,” she says.

Nanette earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Creative Arts in 1994 and her Master’s degree in Education Administration and Supervision in 2009, both from Northern Michigan University.

To learn more about Nanette Hanson, view the four-minute video below:

FL teacher Susana Diaz Hernandez named finalist for Dwyer Award

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Elementary school teacher Susana Diaz Hernandez was named a finalist for a 2023 Dwyer Award for Excellence in Eduction. Photo credit: Economic Council of Palm Beach

There are many fine educators working diligently in Florida schools. One of these is Susana Diaz Hernandez, a Spanish language teacher from Palm Beach, Florida. She was named a finalist for a 2023 Dwyer Award for Excellence in Education.

Susana teaches Spanish at Greenacres Elementary School in Greenacres. Ever since she joined the faculty at Greenacres, she has worked diligently to advance her goal of creating an environment where her students can embrace the Spanish language, engage in Spanish literacy, and honor Hispanic cultures. To this end, she has contributed to supplying and sponsoring English and Spanish books in vending machines so that students could have easy access to reading material. Additionally, she organized a Hispanic Cultural Exhibition on her campus in order to honor Hispanic cultures.

For her outstanding efforts as an educator, Susana was named a finalist for the 39th annual William T. Dwyer Awards for Excellence in Education presented by the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, Inc. in 2023. The Dwyer Awards is an annual program developed and supported by the Economic Council to honor outstanding educators from public and private schools in Palm Beach County. The awards increase awareness of exemplary teaching in the community, provide financial support to educators, and encourage all residents to promote high standards for excellence in education. In addition to her Dwyer Awards honors, Susana was also recognized at the Hispanic Heritage Awards Celebration from the Florida Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce in 2022.

Kindergarten teacher named “Citizen of the Month” by CA Sen. Josh Newman

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Educator Leslee Milch, left, received an award from CA State Senator Josh Newman for her dedication to her summer reading program. He named the teacher his “Citizen of the Month” for July, 2023 Photo credit: CA Senator Josh Newman

Very often dedicated educators who work tirelessly in the classrooms all year round continue to devote themselves to students, even on their summer break. This is certainly true of Leslee Milch, a kindergarten teacher from California who founded a summer reading program 25 years ago, and still dedicates her entire summer break to the enterprise. For her effort, she has been named a “Citizen of the Month” by CA Senator Josh Newman.

Leslee, a National Board Certified teacher, works Gilbert Elementary School in the Buena Park School District in Buena Park, California. Throughout her more than 30 years as an educator, she has consistently demonstrated a passion for fostering essential academic and social skills in her kindergarten students. Every day in the classroom where she often reads to and with her students, Leslee places a special emphasis on literacy.

One day 25 years ago, Leslee was inspired to continue her work beyond the end of the school year and help decrease learning loss during the summer. To further this goal, she established the “Read to Me” summer reading program. She began by meeting with students at George Bellis Park in Buena Park each week to read a story together and share a healthy snack. Since that first year, she has continued the program, so much so that “Read to Me” has become a well-known and cherished community institution. She started by reading to just ten students. Now, hundreds of students and their parents enjoy the free program each week.

For her efforts in the “Read to Me” program, Leslee has been named a “Citizen of the Month” for July, 2023, from California State Senator Josh Newman. Senator Newman represents the 29th Senate District.

To learn more about the “Read to Me” program, click on this link to Education News.

Kindergarten teacher Connie Hall named Nevada’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Kindergarten teacher Connie Hall of Sparks, Nevada, has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Nevada State Department of Education

Our country’s kindergarten kids are truly fortunate to have so many dedicated and compassionate teachers in their lives. Teachers such as Connie Hall, an educator from Sparks, Nevada. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Connie teaches at Lloyd Diedrichsen Elementary School. She says her primary goal is to build meaningful relationships with not only her students, but also everyone in the school community, including parents and colleagues. In a career that spans 29 years, she has taught children from nursery school to third grade.

Connie is well-respected by those who work on her campus. “Mrs. Hall is a passionate educator who puts her students first,” says Ryan Doetch, principal of Diedrichsen Elementary. “She is motivated by student success and is dedicated to creating lasting relationships with every child,” he continued.

The honored teacher has even garnered national attention for her work. Her classroom was filmed and featured in articles for several district and national projects. One project demonstrated her culturally responsive classroom for teacher training in her district. In addition, Connie’s class was one of five classrooms chosen nationally to be featured in The New Teacher Project Room to Run project. The intent of the program was to show what kids can accomplish with challenging, inspiring schoolwork.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Connie serves on her school’s Leadership Team, and she is a member of the Washoe County Early Childhood Advisory Council.

Her award as Nevada’s Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition Connie has earned. She was named the 2019 Certified Employee of the Year for the Washoe County School District, and she has received two certificates of commendation from Nevada state Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

Connie earned a Bachelor’s degree in both Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education from Oakwood University. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a minor in Common Core State Standards from Concordia University. She has been teaching since 1994.

To read more about Connie Hall, click on this link to Pacific Union Conference.