Deaf education teacher Whitney Reardon has garnered a 2023 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teacher Award. Photo credit: Whitney Reardon
Our nation’s students are fortunate to have dedicated teachers working diligently to improve their progress in school. One of these is Whitney Reardon, a special education teacher from Longview, Texas. She has garnered a 2023 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teacher Award.
Whitney teaches deaf education to first through fifth graders at Johnson-McQueen Elementary School, a Regional School for the Deaf located in Longview, East Texas. She has worked there for 16 years.
Whitney’s contributions to the school are second to none, according to Principal Christie Scott. “She not only knows our students’ language deficits, but she is also constantly striving to give students opportunities to build language skills through hands-on engaging activities,” the principal asserts. “When students were learning about civilizations in other countries in regards to housing, Ms. Reardon took students through an entire unit of study by transforming the classroom and creating a transdisciplinary curriculum for students to learn and grow,” Scott continues.
In addition, Whitney organized a Deaf History Month celebration. Deaf History Month is celebrated March 15 through April 15 each year to raise awareness about deaf history and American deaf culture. “So every Monday, the whole school learns about someone who was important in deaf history, and every day, one of our kiddos teaches the school to sign,” Whitney explains. “All of the deaf history month events have made an impact on students—deaf and non-deaf,” she declares. “It’s helped them learn how to be partners together and more inclusive, and it’s just been really good to make the whole group learn about it,” she concludes.
Whitney earned her Bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2007. She earned her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Lamar University in 2015.
Humanities Texas presents annual statewide awards to encourage excellence in teaching and recognize classroom teachers who have made exemplary contributions in teaching, curriculum development, and extracurricular programming. This year, over 600 teachers from all over the state were nominated for this prestigious award, and only 15 were selected as winners. Each winning teacher will receive $5,000 for personal use and an additional $1,000 will go to their school to buy instructional materials related to the humanities.
