Tag Archives: Language Arts Teachers

Craig Rowe named a finalist for CA State 2023 Teacher of the Year

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High school English teacher Craig Rowe of Truckee, California, has been named one of his state’s finalists for 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Truckee High School

Many exceptional educators have been recognized for their work in the classroom this year. One of these is Craig Rowe, a high school English teacher from Placer County, California. He has been named one of nine finalists for California’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Craig teaches at Truckee High School in the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District. He also serves as the Model United Nations Advisor for his school. The honored educator says he is passionate about diversity students having an equal chance to attend the college of their dreams. To facilitate this, he formed La Fuerza Latina, a small college prep admissions program for his Truckee High students. The goal of the program is to raise the collegiate bar for students from multi-ethnic backgrounds, and to provide the kind of high-caliber admissions preparation paid consultants provide. In this way, Craig says, diversity students have the opportunity to compete at the highest level nationally, to earn scholarships, and to reach their potential.

Craig has his own childhood experiences to thank for his passion to help disadvantaged students. As a young man, he says, he never saw himself becoming a teacher. The son of a Hispanic mother and a White father, neither of whom attended college, Craig remembers school as a place fraught with racial tension and frequent fights. As a young man, he recalls fellow students speaking negatively about his ethnic heritage, which caused him a great deal of shame and anger. “This was before multiculturalism was a thing,” Craig remembers. “School was definitely not a respite.”

Despite his inauspicious performance in high school academics, Craig went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Washington. He earned his Master’s degree in Dramatic Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. And he completed the requirements for his Ph.D. in Performance Studies from University of California, Berkeley. While there, he garnered a Regents Fellowship. In addition, Craig worked in a Chicana writing program at Stanford University.

“I want every student to know that regardless of their social or ethnic status, if they are hard-working and diligent, they can compete at the very highest level nationally,” asserts Craig. “My intent is simply to supplement our outstanding counseling support system, so our students have equal advantages for being placed in highly competitive colleges and universities as well as earn scholarships,” he concludes.

Mandy Perez named Kentucky’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Elementary teacher Mandy Perez of Marion, Kentucky, has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Kentucky Department of Education

I am always excited to share the story of an exceptional teacher who has earned recognition for her work in the classroom. Today I shine a spotlight on Mandy Perez, an elementary teacher from Kentucky. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Mandy, who is the first in her family to graduate from college, says she always dreamed of becoming a teacher. Her father, an immigrant from Panama, came to the United States at the age of 16. Her mother is a native of Crittenden County. Mandy earned both her Bachelor’s degree in Education and her Master’s degree in Education with an emphasis in Guidance and Counseling from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.

Once she earned her degree, Mandy inaugurated her career at Crittenden County Elementary School, where she taught third, fourth, and fifth graders. Currently, she teaches English Language Arts (ELA) to sixth graders at Crittenden County Middle School in Marion. Her career as an educator has spanned 18 years.

The honored teacher declares her priority as an educator is to foster a love for lifelong learning and to create enthusiasm for reading that expands beyond the classroom walls. “Educators and society owe it to our students to promote a love for reading,” declares Mandy. “Stories can be used as learning tools to teach the importance of understanding one’s culture, being kind, showing acceptance, exercising patience, working through differences, practicing the power of giving,” she continues. “There are so many lessons students can relate to and connect within a story. It’s these types of stories that teach them how to cope, deal with situations and understand who they are,” she concludes.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Mandy serves on the Coalition for Sustaining the Profession, the Curriculum and Instruction Committee, and on the Literacy Committee. In addition, she is the ELA content team leader, sixth grade team leader, and a mentor for new teachers.

To read more about Mandy Perez, click on the following link to the article published by the Kentucky State Department of Education.

English teacher Amber Jirsa honored by Illinois State Board of Ed

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English teacher Amber Jirsa of Batavia, Illinois, has been honored as the state’s North Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education.  Photo credit: Glancer Magazine

It is always a pleasure for me to share the story of an exemplary educator. Today, the spotlight shines on Amber Jirsa, an English teacher from Bolingbrook,  Illinois. In Feb., 2023, Amber was honored as North Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education.

Amber earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education from Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois, in 2008. She earned her Master’s degree in Administrative Leadership from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois, in 2011. She also completed the requirements for her certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University in 2021.

In 2008, Amber accepted a teaching position at Bolingbrook High School, where she taught for six years. In 2014, she relocated to Batavia High School, where serves as a Lead Instructor and teaches World Literature and American Literature.

“As an educator, my passion lies in creating inclusive and equitable learning environments where all students feel seen, heard, and valued,” Amber declares. “I have dedicated my career to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom and beyond, and am committed to supporting students’ social-emotional growth and well-being,” she continues.

To achieve this goal, Amberparticipates in her district’s Equity Committee and the Illinois Education Association’s Human and Civil Rights Committee. And she is a facilitator for the National Education Association’s Leaders for Just Schools Cohort.

To read more about Chalkboard Champion Amber Jirsa, click on this link to an interview with her published by Batavia Public School District 101.

CO teacher Ashley Lowe develops individualized student learning plans

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Colorado English teacher Ashley Lowe builds meaningful relationships and individualized student learning plans. Photo Credit: Pikes Peak Early College

Our nation’s students are very fortunate to have such dedicated teachers in the classroom. One of these is Ashley Lowe, a middle school English teacher from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Ashley teaches eighth grade at Falcon Middle School in Peyton, Colorado. Her career as an educator spans four years. Prior to entering the teaching profession, she worked as an associate editor and video journalist for Pulp Newsmagazine.

Building meaningful relationship with students is powerful and important, asserts Ashley. She also strives to listen to others, set fair but high expectations for students, and communicate her content knowledge in numerous ways to appeal to all types of learners. And she also says that, in addition to building the language skills of reading, writing, and oral communication, she also teaches empathy. “As educators, we have to remember that beyond the confines of our classrooms and schools, there are students who have been positively impacted in small and large ways,” she declares.

Ashley is well-known for working collaboratively with her peers. She is a participant in her campus Modern Teacher group. The mission of the group is to create a learner-centered culture on the campus. In fact, her individualized student learning plans are so learner-centered that they were nationally recognized at the 2021 National Conference on Digital Convergence.

For her work in the classroom, Ashley has earned many accolades. She was named her District’s Teacher of the Year in 2021. And this year, she is one of seven finalists named by the Colorado Department of Education for her state’s Teacher of the Year.

Ashely attended Pueblo Community College, where she earned her Associate of Arts degree. While there, she garnered a Rising Star Award for her participation in community service projects and programs in 2016. She served as a Destination Imagination Team Manager for elementary students, and she created the first campus book club to build a stronger reading community. In 2019, Ashley earned her Bachelor’s degree in English/Language Arts Teacher Education from Colorado State University, Pueblo. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in English through an online program at Arizona State University.

Kelsey Stoyanova named Maine’s 2022 Teacher of the Year

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Middle school Language Arts teacher Kelsey Stoyanova of Maine has been named her state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Maine Department of Education

It is always a pleasure to share stories about talented educators who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Kelsey Stoyanova, a middle school teacher from Hamden, Maine. Sara has been named her state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

Kelsey teaches eighth grade Language Arts and reading at Reeds Brook Middle School in Regional School Unit 22 in Hamden. In her classroom, the honored educator places emphasis on developing relationships with her students. “Relationships are everything,” she asserts. “Form relationships with kids, with colleagues, with the community. Work on trying to be your best self and when you are your best self, the people around you are their best selves too,” she continues.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Kelsey serves as the middle-level Language Arts curriculum leader, working to create and align the curriculum for middle schools throughout her district. She also served on the Equity in Education committee where she designed and implemented her district’s Reads Three Reading Challenge for both students and community members. The committee works to highlight authors and characters of color, women in literature, Asian American/Pacific Islander voices, Hispanic-Latinx award winning titles, Native American heritage, and LGBTQ authors and characters.

Kelsey’s Teacher of the Year honors are not the only accolades she has earned. She garnered the title of 2021 Penobscot County Teacher of the Year. In addition, she was selected as a grant recipient by the Book Love Foundation in 2020.

Kelsey earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Secondary Education and her Master’s degree in Education with a focus on Literature, both from the University of Maine. She also participated in the Maine Writing Project, a summer professional development and leadership institute for writers and writing teachers that is part of the National Writing Project.

You can learn more about this Chalkboard Champion at University of Maine News.