Tag Archives: Language Arts Teachers

Angel Santiago named New Jersey 2021 Teacher of the Year

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Educator Angel Santiago of Blackwood, New Jersey, has been named his state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Angel Santiago.

Congratulations go to educator Angel Santiago of Blackwood, New Jersey, who has been named his state’s 2021Teacher of the Year. Angel teaches Language Arts to fifth graders at Loring Flemming Elementary School.

Angel says he owes his successes in the classroom to his passion for fostering strong relationships with his students, their families, his colleagues, and the community in which he serves. In addition to his classroom responsibilities, Angel is the facilitator of the group Young People of Character (YPOC). This group of fourth and fifth graders, who come from different socio-economic backgrounds, participate in various community service projects to promote teamwork, empathy, and personal growth. Some of the projects the group has been involved in include writing letters to veterans for Veterans Day, cleaning up the school grounds for Earth Day, and volunteering during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. “Community outreach is a great example of how a rural community like mine uses empathy, teamwork, and leadership to teach our students life lessons without using textbooks or assessments, but rather our hands and our hearts,” asserts Angel.

The honored educator has taught his entire professional career in Camden County. In 2012 he began teaching in the Lindenwold Public Schools, and in 2013 he moved to Gloucester Township Public Schools where he continues to teach.

Angel graduated from New Jersey’s Fairleigh Dickinson University. He earned both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Humanities. In addition, he is a member of both Phi Theta Kappa and Kappa Delta Pi Honor Societies.

To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, see this article published online by the New Jersey Education Association.

Kimberly Piper-Stoddard earns NH Teacher of the Year Award

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Congratulations to New Hampshire educator Kimberly Piper-Stoddard, who has garnered her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year Award. Kimberly teaches Language Arts to prisoners for the Department of Corrections.

Congratulations to New Hampshire educator Kimberly Piper-Stoddard, who has garnered her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year Award. Kimberly works for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections. This is the first time in New Hampshire history that an educator working in the prison system has won the prestigious recognition.

Kimberly’s career as an educator spans 25 years. She has taught at all levels, including pre-school, elementary, and middle school. Currently she teaches secondary Language Arts at Granite State High School, which is located on the grounds of the state prison in Concord. Her students, both male and female, range in age from 17 to 70.

When Kimberly learned that a position for an English teacher opened up at the prison, she didn’t hesitate to apply. “I was always drawn to the at-risk kids, the kids who had no one else in their corner,” Kimberly says. “They kind of drew me in and made me want to reach them. This seemed like an extension of that,” she continued.

Kimberly has worked for the Department of Corrections for four years. She credits her success in the classroom to recognizing her students as unique human beings. “The students in my classroom are trying to get their lives back on track,” the honored teacher observed. “And being able to help them and honor them along the way, and be tough with them when I need to be tough, and be supportive when they need support, that’s the thing that’s most rewarding about being here.”

Granite High School is fully accredited and recognized by the New Hampshire State Department of Education. Completing courses through the program like those that Kimberly teaches gives inmates an opportunity to earn a high school diploma. Gaining an education is a major step in the rehabilitation of the inmates. “Every individual is on his or her own journey and own life path,” Kimberly asserts. “We all make choices, but everyone deserves another chance, and they will take that chance when they are ready,” she concluded.

Kimberly earned her Bachelor’s degree in English teaching and her Master’s degree in Elementary Education, both at the University of New Hampshire.

To read more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion, see this article about her at NHPR.

 

Alternative school educator Mike Padron succumbs to Covid

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Alternative school educator Mike Padron of Rockford, Illinois, succumbed to Covid on Nov. 19, 2020. He was just 38 years old. Photo credit: Rockford Register Star

With great sadness we report the loss of yet another educator to Covid. Mike Padron, a teacher in Rockford, Illinois, succumbed to the disease on November 19, 2020. He was just 38 years old.

Mike taught at Language Arts at Summit Academy, the alternative school for the Boone-Winnebago Regional School District. Mike’s widow Nikki Padron, who is an elementary school teacher, asserted that her husband dedicated his career to helping Rockford’s “most delicate students.” She said he held his students to the highest standard and championed their progress.

Mike was favorite among his colleagues and students, remembers Scott Bloomquist, the Regional Superintendent of the Boone-Winnebago Regional Office of Education. “Mr. Padron worked hard every day to connect with students and parents, doing all he could to meet their needs. He will forever be remembered as an educator who put students first,” Bloomquist declared.

Mike was born on April 19, 1982. After Mike Padron graduated from Boylan Catholic High School, he earned his degree at Rockford University. He launched his career as an educator at Rockford’s Kennedy Middle School. At the time of his passing, he was teaching Language Arts at Summit Academy. In 2014, MIke was nominated for a Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

To read more about Mike Padron, see this obituary at legacy.com.

Nebraska’s Megan Helberg named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year

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Nebraska’s Megan Helberg named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

I enjoy sharing stories about educators who have earned accolades for their innovation in the classroom. One of these is Megan Helberg, an English teacher from Burwell, Nebraska.

Megan grew up on a ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills. She graduated from Loup County Public School in Taylor, a rural district with a PK-12 enrollment of only about 70 students.

Megan earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska. She earned her teaching certificate through the Transition to Teach program at the University of Nebraska, Kearney.

Megan inaugurated her career as an educator at Papillion La Vista Community Schools in the Omaha metro area. Currently, she teaches English and Language Arts to grades 8, 11, and 12 at Burwell Junior/Senior High School in Burwell, Nebraska. She has taught there since 2010.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Megan serves as a Burwell Public School Leader in Technology Educator. She also served a stint as a Museum Teacher Fellow in Washington, DC. In 2013, Megan earned a grant from Fund for Teachers. She used the grant money to visit Holocaust sites in Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. She also purchased educational materials for her classroom. “That’s really what started the Holocaust education program at our school,” recalled Megan. For her efforts, the innovative educator was named a Museum Teacher Fellow with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016.

To learn more about this talented educator, follow this link to the online story published by the University of Nebraska, Kearney.

English educator Lauren Merkley named Utah’s 2020 Teacher of the year

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Congratulations to English educator Lauren Merkley who has been named Utah’s 2020 State Teacher of the Year.

Congratulations are due to English educator Lauren Merkley of Cottonwood High School in Murray, Utah. She’s been named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

Lauren earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Cornell University in 2005. She spent the next ten years working in the fundraising field. It was in 2015 that Lauren decided to go into the teaching profession. For the past five years, she has taught at Cottonwood High in the Granite School District in Murray, Utah. She currently teaches Language Arts to high school juniors.

Lauren says she was inspired to become an English teacher by her own high school English teacher, Mr. Wolfe. She recalled that Mr. Wolfe’s classroom was furnished with couches and lamps. “It felt like we’re in his living room having a discussion,” she described.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Lauren serves on her school’s Equal Opportunity Schools team. The team works to identify students from under-represented groups to consider taking a more rigorous coursework, such as AP classes, concurrent enrollment, Career and Technical Education, or honors courses.

“I’m really interested in educational equity, so removing barriers to education through advanced classes, attendance policies, homework policies that are roadblocks for underrepresented populations, I’m very passionate about that,” expressed Lauren.

Lauren also serves as a member of Cottonwood’s leadership team. “This team looks at school data to help identify the positive things that are going on in the school, as well as coming up with solutions for problems,” described Cottonwood Principal Terri Roylance.

To read more about Lauren, follow this link to an article published by Deseret News.