Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

Texas teacher Lisa Mackey named a 2023 State Teacher of the Year finalist

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Elementary school teacher Lisa Mackey has been named one of three educators from her state who have been named as 2023 Texas State Teacher of the Year finalists. Photo credit: Texas Association of School Administrators

It is always my pleasure to recognize exceptional educators who have been honored for their work with students. One of these is Lisa Mackey, an art teacher from Klein, Texas. She has been named one of three educators from her state who have been named as 2023 Texas State Teacher of the Year finalists.

Lisa teaches at Fox Elementary School in the Klein Independent School District. In a career that began in 2010 in the Fort Bend Independent School District, she has taught at Fox since 2022, when she became a member of the inaugural staff at that school. Before transitioning to art, she taught as a regular classroom teacher. But she declares that the move has been a good one for her. “As an art teacher, I have a unique opportunity to pull out creativity in every way possible,” Lisa says. “However, having been a classroom teacher before transitioning to art has made me appreciate and integrate cross-curricular activities into many of my lessons.”

In addition to her work as an art instructor, Lisa is an advocate for advanced academics as a Gifted and Talented coordinator. In this role, she works with students to help them thrive in problem-solving and self-driven learning. She also does volunteer work as a Destination Imagination coach. Destination Imagination students work together in teams to solve open-ended STEAM challenges designed to teach the creative process.

This outstanding educator has been named one of three teachers from across Texas who have been chosen as Texas State Teacher of the Year finalists for the 2023 Elementary Texas Teacher of the Year program. But she has garnered other accolades as well. In 2022, Lisa was named her district’s Teacher of the Year, and she was selected in both 2020 and 2015 as the Metzler Elementary School Teacher of the Year, also located in the Klein ISD. Metzler is an internationally recognized Visible Learning campus. Visible Learning is the result of work by John Hattie who conducted research focusing on the influences that impact student achievement. Hattie was able to identify more than 250 influences on positive student achievement. Visible Learners set learning goals, are reflective, and know when to seek help from peers. Teachers provide success criteria so learners understand what it means to be successful in their learning.

Lisa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Texas State University in 2009, graduating magna cum laude.

TN educator Alexa Guynes earns Milken Educator Award

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Fifth grade teacher Alexa Guynes of Germantown, Tennessee, has earned a prestigious 2022 Milken Educator Award. Photo credit: Milken Educator Awards

It is always a pleasure to share stories about innovative educators who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Alexa Guynes, an elementary school teacher from Tennessee who has earned a prestigious 2022 Milken Educator Award.

Alexa teaches fifth grade at Dogwood Elementary in the Germantown Municipal School District. She has a reputation for designing lessons that are immersive. For example, her students wear goggles and lab coats for Mad Scientist Day; a lesson about Jackie Robinson ends with uniformed students going out on the school field to play a baseball game; and March Madness becomes a literary March Madness, including a reading tournament where students vote on their selections for the best book. In fact, her class begins each day with a book, usually a picture book, related to the topic the students are learning about that day. Many of Alexa’s students declare that this “Book a Day” tradition is their favorite part of class.

In addition to working with her young students, Alexa serves as the Chair for her school’s fifth grade team, and she is the English/Language Arts (ELA) content lead for third, fourth, and fifth grades. She helped her school implement its new ELA curriculum, enhancing lessons with imaginative strategies and activities designed to promote interaction. Alexa also mentors student teachers and has served on Dogwood’s school leadership, professional development, and ELA textbook selection committees.

Alexa was born and raised in Germantown. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2014 and her Master’s degree in Elementary Education in 2021, both from Mississippi State University.

The Milken Educator Awards have been described by Teacher Magazine 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 2,700 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country who work towards strengthening best practices in education. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.

To read more about Alexa Guynes, click on this link to Germantown Municipal School District.

SD elementary teacher Abby Turbak garners 2022 Milken Educator Award

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South Dakota elementary school teacher Abby Turbak has garnered a prestigious 2022 Milken Educator Award. Photo Credit: Watertown Public Opinion

I always enjoy sharing an inspirational story about a talented educator who has earned accolades for her work in the classroom. Today’s story is about Abby Turbak, an elementary school teacher from Watertown, South Dakota. Abby has garnered a prestigious 2022 Milken Educator Award.

Abby teaches first grade at McKinley Elementary School in the Watertown School District. Her career has spanned 13 years, the last eight of them at McKinley. In addition to her work with her first-graders, this hardworking educator has served on her District’s Progress and Curriculum Committees and her school’s McKinley’s Response to Intervention team. She also leads summer professional development sessions for District teachers on topics such as math grouping strategies, classroom management, technology, parent communication, and time management. When the pandemic closed the schools in 2020, Abby helped colleagues create their Google Classrooms to ensure students received high-quality instruction while learning at home.

Obviously, Abby was born to teach. “I became an educator because I wanted to make a difference,” she declares. “I love kids. I love seeing them learn and grow.” She earned the prestigious award in recognition of her efforts to maintain high expectations for her students, for expertly integrating technology into her curriculum, and for sharing her passion for professional development with her colleagues.

Abby earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2010 and her Master’s degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education in 2011, both from the University of South Dakota, Vermillion.

The Milken Educator Awards have been described by Teacher Magazine 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 2,700 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country who work towards strengthening best practices in education. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.

NY teacher Lynda Brennan earns prestigious PAEMST honors

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Congratulations go to elementary school math teacher Lynda Brennan of New York. She has earned a prestigious PAEMST. Photo Credit: Mt. Kisco Daily Voice

Congratulations to elementary school math teacher Lynda Brennan of Suffern, New York, an elementary math teacher who has earned a prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

This prestigious honor recognizes the dedication, hard work, and important role that America’s teachers play in supporting learners who will become future STEM professionals, including computer technologists, climate scientists, mathematicians, innovators, space explorers, and engineers. The honor comes with a $10,000 cash prize, a certificate signed by President Joe Biden, and a trip to Washington, DC, to attend an honors ceremony with the President.

Lynda has been a teacher at Richard P. Connor (RPC) Elementary School for 26 years. She inaugurated her elementary teaching career as a kindergarten teacher. She has also taught fifth grade mathematics and science. For the past 12 years, she has served her District as a mathematics specialist, working with area Math Ambassadors.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Lynda works with Association of Mathematics Teachers of New York State (AMTNYS) as a Conference Committee Chair; Ten County Mathematics Educators Association (TCMEA) as an NCTM Representative; NCTM as a volunteer magazine referee; and with the Rockland Teacher Center where she facilitates a grant-funded elementary mathematics regional Professional Learning Community. In addition, she has been a speaker at national, state, and local conferences, including the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM), NCTM, AMTNYS, TCMEA, New Cubed, Building Math Minds and Minds on Math Virtual Summits, and the Penn Wood School in the United Kingdom.

As if all this were not enough, Lynda is the founder of the Math MileMarkers children’s book series, a project she inaugurated seven years ago. She says her philosophy behind this endeavor is that mathematics-infused stories can connect all learners to the subject of mathematics in visually powerful ways. The series includes such titles as  “Miss Penny Says Prove It!” (2014), “On my way to Grandma’s House” (2015), “Charlie in Fraction City” (2016), and “Jayla Number Navigator” (2018).

Lynda earned her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management in 1986 from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, and her Master’s degree in Elementary Education in 1990 from Fordham University in the Bronx, New York.

Daphne Fulson named Virginia’s 2022 Teacher of the Year

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Elementary school teacher Daphne Fulson named Virginia’s 2022 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Coastal Virginia Mag

I always enjoy sharing stories about exceptional educators who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Daphne Fulson, an elementary school teacher from Virginia who has been named her state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

Daphne teaches bilingual second-grade at Portlock Primary School in Chesapeake, Virginia. In a career that has spanned 12 years, she has spent the last six of them in Chesapeake. Daphne genuinely enjoys her work with young people. “Teaching brings beauty and joy to the world,” she asserts. And she has a wonderful reputation among her colleagues. Leslie Russell, Principal of Portlock Primary School, describes Da[hne as a “caring, inspiring, and compassionate educator who has a natural gift for touching the lives of her students.”

In addition to teaching at Portlock, Daphne has worked as an  instructor of English as a Foreign Language at Via Lingua in Peru.  And every summer, Daphne works as a facilitator of content and pedagogy for Teach For America. In this role, her priority is to facilitate an environment where culturally responsive practices are used to deliver anti-racist, high rigor, instruction that promotes moral values, self-confidence, and self-esteem in students, guiding them to collaborate, communicate, think critically, and act independently as productive, problem-solving citizens of society.

In 2013, Daphne earned her Bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University (ODU) with a double major in communications and Spanish Education, and a double minor in Social Welfare and English. In 2022, she earned her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a concentration in administration and supervision, also from ODU. In addition, Daphne has completed courses at La Universidad Veritas in Costa Rica, where she served as an international global ambassador.

In addition to her recognition as Virginia’s Teacher of the Year, Daphne has earned many other honors. She garnered the Sue Lehmann Teaching and Learning Fellowship for the Rio Grande Valley Texas region in 2015, and the Good to Transformational Teaching Fellowship in McAllen, Texas, in 2017. She was also named the recipient of the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award in 2017.